Customer Reviews

Domino 5 Web Programming with XML, Java, and JavaScript

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This book is divided into 5 sections: IDE, JavaScript, Using Java in Notes/Domino, Domino objects for Java, and Data Integration.

I didn't buy the book for the 162 pg IDE section and it may be considered a bit basic (I already know how to start Designer).

The 158 pg JavaScript section is great and lays out the Document Object Model nicely (something difficult to find elsewhere). It gives good demos on validation, rollovers, and cookies.

Java is covered in the 3rd and 4th sections comprising 348 pages. It's deep and comprehensive.

The remaining 157 pgs is devoted to Enterprise Integration, combining XML, Java, and Domino.

I really like that the CD has the full text of the book, making searching a breeze.

Since purchasing the book it has served as a great reference. However, I was disappointed that it lacked in showing actual implementation. The section on using JavaScript for form validation is such an example. While we are shown how to use JavaScript to check fields, we are not shown how to appy it in both Domino _and_ the web. Ideally, JavaScript was brought in for such a purpose... thus eliminating having to write 2 sets of form validation for every form. Getting it to work elegantly across both platforms can prove to be tricky, and the books lacks on this side of it. If you are looking for something to point you in the right direction with XML, Java, and Notes, this is for you. If you want 'tricks' of the trade, this isn't so great.

At page 682 of 836 Tamura introduces Chapter 22 with the phrase "What is XML?". At page 808 Chapter 27 begins with "What is a servlet?". Introducing fundamental terms of web technology near the end of the book should make it obvious that something with the concept of this book went fundamentally wrong. From a modern book on Domino Web programming I'd expect some information about how to implement a multitier architecture, scalability,maintainability , perfomance and security etc... You won't find anything useful about these things in the whole book. So what does Tamura consider important then? The book is a collection of reference sections, e.g. Notes Design elements (Chapter 2 to 6) found in numerous other books including the Designer online help in better quality. It is especially annoying, though, that he also explaines design elements that can be used in the notes client only but not in a webclient (e.g. layout regions). So why mention it at all here? It looks to me as if large amounts of this book have been inserted via copy and paste from other resources and other contexts. The html/Javascript reference sections do not contain any Domino specific information and can be found in other books in much better quality as well. The examples given (checking for blank fields etc)are extremely trivial and of no practical use. On the other hand Tamura dosnt tell the reader how to implement a nice looking navigation with DHTML views but only shows the ugly domino standard views and the performance critical view applet. XML: Tamura doesn't even mention the SAX or other modern APIs like JDOM. He just keeps talking about the rather old fasihioned DOM API. This is the worst book on domino development I've read so far and what makes it especially annoying from my point of view is the little care and effort with which it has been written. I think it's getting time to stand up against the black sheep in the business and name them explicitely. Hopefully this will enable other authors of better quality bring their books to the market.

As a full-time Domino administrator, but only a part-time Domino designer, my Notes programming skills tend to get rusty. And I tend to fall behind in my knowledge of the newer design techniques. This book has been just the tonic for me. It has helped me to bring myself up to date as a Domino designer.

I would think, too, that it would be a great book for anyone approaching Domino Web design as a beginner. It introduces you to everything you need to know: beginning with the Domino Designer interface, Notes design elements, and elementary Notes page formatting tasks (including HTML); continuing through all the language models -- formula language, JavaScript, Java, and XML; and culminating with the very most sophisticated techniques, such as integrating Domino with relational data and streamlining your Domino Web serving with Java servlets and Java Server Pages.

While this book may not be the only book you'll want to own on any one of the topics it covers, it is certainly a good overview of the topic of Domino Web development. And it is a good introduction to Domino Web development for any non-Domino developer. I recommend this book.

I wanted a resource that would be an aid in making the jump from being a Notes client/LotusScript developer to having the ability to work in a in a web/browser environment, using java/html/javascript and XML (with or without Notes). Together with this excellent book, and a java tutorial I found on the Sun site, I'm am acquiring these skills. Mr. Tamura's explanations and examples for both Notes and standalone java have been instrumental in making this possible.

I personally found this book a bit of a disappointment but I guess it's down to what you want. If you want a guide to XML and Java then buy this book, but for Javascript and HTML I found the book didn't go deep enough, for instance Stylesheets are not mentioned anywhere except in connection with XML.

In conclusion not a bad book but not the complete and definitive guide I had hope it would be.

I have read this book and found it useful. As a beginner on Domino Web Development this book has realy helped me in developing adequate skills in XML, Javascript and Java.

This is the book that let me keep reading all the times. As a As400 RPG programmer and Notes Developer, I like to know what Domino/Notes can do and looking for the way of directions and the key elements to bring back-end database to the Internet thru Domino. I like this book because it gives me the directions and shows me the ways to apply Java,JavaScript and Servlet to the Domino Server either from inside Domino Agents or outside Domino.Especially, the topics for Notes Java classes really shows me the way to java coding in Notes Agents. Though it is not complete to cover all these area, it is definitely a excelent book to keep.The writing is good and author always get to the point right away for each topic. Maybe it is a waste of money for people who knows all these topics already but it is certainly a key door to the people like me who has been wondering how to get to these area for years. After reading all of it, I definitely know where to go and how to do to be a cutting edge programmer.

I purchased this book because I thought it might have some useful R5 javascript examples using R5 Objects coding for the jsheader and the like. No such luck, all the examples pertain to coding javascript in html,,,,,you can find that in O'Reilly's JavaScript, The Definitive Guide (which is a MUCH better JavaScript book). The section on XML and Java are all rehashes of other similar books.

This was a highly anticipated book when it came out because it covered some very hot topics; namely XML and Java. The book probably didn't quite live up to expectations but still provided a load of useful information about those topics.

Today you're probably better off with purchasing Lotus Notes and Domino 6 Programming Bible. Brian Benz and Rocky Oliver have done a great job with that book.