Yesterday I was notified that I have been named as one of 50 IBM Champions for IBM Collaboration Solutions, a.k.a. Lotus. Looking at that list, it feels rather surreal to be included among them. The closest estimate I've heard for how many Lotus professionals exist worldwide is 100,000... if that figure is accurate, these individuals represent one half of one tenth of one percent of all those who "do what we do"... and I just can't wrap my head around that number. So I want to thank IBM for choosing to honor me in this way, and thank everyone else on that list for the many contributions they have made for which IBM considers them to be Champions.
As I scanned the list, I noticed several things that pleased me:
Many of these folks are my friends. I interact with several of them on practically a daily basis, and get to see a few more of them several times a year. The times that I get to spend with these people are always the highlights of my year, and, aside from my far too infrequent visits to see my parents, are the only times I truly feel "home". I constantly see the results of their contributions, and am frequently the recipient of them, so it warms my heart to see them recognized for their passion, enthusiasm, and hard work.
Two of these friends are also my coworkers. One of them is my boss. Chris Toohey and Nathan Freeman are amazing people, two of the closest friends I have, and are truly my heroes. As someone who got into this business accidentally, I am frequently reminded how fortunate I am to have somehow found my way to a place where I get to work with, and for, individuals of their caliber and character. It's often difficult for me to clearly see my own strengths and weaknesses, but these gentlemen can, and have had more influence than most on helping me to become who I want to be.
I only recognize about half of the names on that list. I have no idea who the rest of them are. But IBM knows who they are. They span not only the globe, but the gamut of the types of organizations who embrace IBM's software solutions: business partners, customers, universities... they represent shops that range in size from literally a handful of people to tens of thousands. That individuals in such disparate professional circumstances are each, for their own contributions, so present on IBM's radar gives me a renewed indication of how vibrant our professional community is and how widespread the influence of this software platform remains.
When I started my first Notes job in January 1998, I figured it was something I'd do until I figured out "what I want to be when I grow up". That rapidly shifted to "until all the Notes work dries up" (because, 13 years ago, Notes was supposedly "dead"... sound familiar?). Within a few years, "until this stops being fun".
The platform is now in both a technological and etymological transition. And, at some point when I wasn't paying attention, I transitioned from using the technology to influencing its direction. But it's more fun than ever, the work hasn't dried up, and I certainly haven't grown up.
So, for now, I do this because it's who I am. Thank you to all of you for letting me be who I am.
locating XPage components with XspQuery
Sun, Apr 14th 2013 12:00a Tim Tripcony Several years ago, I wrote a utility Java class designed to make it easy to search for components within the current XPage instance based on various criteria. I've found it enormously useful, and, apparently, so has Keith Strickland, because he added it to org.openntf.xsp.extlib, complete with a few refinements. As an example of how you might use this, examine the following line of code:
List requiredFields = new XspQuery()
.addInstanceOf(UIInput.class)
.addEquals("required", true)
.loc [read] Keywords: ldd
lotus
dojo
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openntf
oracle
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357
your how is not your what
Wed, Apr 3rd 2013 11:36a Tim Tripcony I've noticed a pattern emerging when I'm asked for help with XPages. Here's a representative conversation:
"I'm trying to do [X] and it's not working. How can I do that?"
"What are you trying to accomplish?"
"I already told you. I'm trying to do [X]."
"No, that's how you're trying to do it. What are you trying to do?"
For example, replace "[X]" with "reach into a repeat control from outside it" (since this has become the most frequent topic I'm asked about [read] Keywords: xpages application
my new favorite quote
Sat, Mar 23rd 2013 5:20p Tim Tripcony "We go about our daily lives understanding almost nothing of the world. We give little thought to the machinery that generates the sunlight that makes life possible, to the gravity that glues us to an earth that would otherwise send us spinning off into space, or the atoms of which we are made and on whose stability we fundamentally depend. Except for children (who don’t know enough not to ask the important questions), few of us spend much time wondering why nature is the way it is; where the [read] Keywords: wiki
Taking the scary out of Java in XPages: Prologue
Tue, Feb 26th 2013 9:50p Tim Tripcony The discussion following my last post made stark the need for greater availability of information that makes the nature of Java more accessible to Domino developers. Credit for the title of this post goes to Declan, who is considering writing a series of blog posts on this topic. I will be doing the same; hopefully there will be a fair amount of duplication. As David Leedy is fond of stating, it's a good thing when several people share the same information, because that makes it easier for the [read] Keywords: domino
xpages application
java
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SSJS is a crutch
Fri, Feb 22nd 2013 10:50p Tim Tripcony I've been debating for quite a while whether I should write this post. It obviously makes a potentially controversial statement. A fellow developer who knew I was drafting it put my hesitance into perspective: "you really want to be that guy?" This was my response:
I want to be the guy who saves people pain. But sometimes to do that, you have to tell your friend if she wants to stop being punched in the face, she needs to leave the guy who keeps punching her in the face.
This post is ju [read] Keywords: agent
domino
formula language
ibm
lotus
lotusscript
notes
xpages applications
development
java
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Passthru vs. component - my perspective
Sat, Feb 16th 2013 9:40p Tim Tripcony Paul Withers posted a thorough article explaining the differences between namespaced XPage components (e.g. ) and their corresponding passthru elements (e.g. ), providing numerous examples of what actually happens when these objects are constructed. I've always heard (and often repeated) that passthru elements are more efficiently processed than their namespaced equivalents, so Paul's post inspired me to offer my own perspective.
Simply put, there's practically no difference... but there a [read] Keywords: acl
domino
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development
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org.openntf.xsp.extlib
Mon, Jan 21st 2013 5:20a Tim Tripcony About 18 months ago, I created an OpenNTF project called Community Control Library. The fundamental reason for creating the project was my belief that the single factor keeping the Domino community from realizing the true potential of the platform is the assumption that the XPages Extension Library is the extension library, not an extension library. Let's briefly revisit its history:
IBM starts an internal project, code named "Porus" (in reference to the Greek / Roman god of plenty), inte [read] Keywords: domino
ibm
notes
policies
xpages application
applications
best practice
community
development
openntf
wiki
