I'm surprised how often I hear people spouting off information about Notes and/or Domino that is more than innaccurate, it's just plain wrong. And always, it seems, from people supremely-confident in the rightness of their wrongness.

In for a penny, in for a pound, I suppose.

These are the Myths of Domino and just like the years-gone-by myths of dragons or sea creatures or Minataurs, what irritates me most about them is how often they come from people who (a) should know better, and (b) are in positions of authority to make poor decisions on the basis of them.

We have come to the point that some of our proposals now contain an entire section devoted to addressing some of the most pervasive (and damaging) of these myths. I thought I might share some of the more damning with you and hopefully you'll share the ones you've heard, too.

So, here goes:

THE MYTHS OF DOMINO

MYTH: Domino applications are ugly

There is a misplaced and, frankly, erroneous belief that applications and/or web pages built using Lotus Notes and/or Domino are somehow inferior to those created using other technologies, particularly in terms of their appearance.

The fact is, Domino sites, like those from any other platform, are as attractive as their developers’ skills permit. Don't blame the canvas, blame the artist. Above and below are examples of a number of Domino-based web sites and applications we've built that I think you'll agree are quite easy on the eyes and none of which, I would submit, you could identify as Domino without seeing ".nsf" in the URL.

Domino is a powerful, feature-rich platform for building web-facing applications. Out of the box, Domino has and uses the complete Lotus Notes security model. Features like full-text searching are already there, as are all the native capabilities that come with Notes views, forms, and other design elements.

The same Domino Designer that lets developers build Lotus Notes client applications also allows them to build sophisticated web applications. Or applications that work from both the client and the web. Or even applications that work from the client, web, and mobile devices, all from the same Notes database.

Domino web applications can be used for both Intranet and Internet applications—and those that cover both.

Domino applications can take full advantage of other web development platforms, as well, including Adobe Flex, Dreamweaver, etc. and, because the Notes security model is extended to the web, documents that are supposed to be private will remain private.

And, of course, Domino applications can be beautiful.

MYTH: Lotus Notes can’t access a web service (or be run as one)

Domino supports Web services as defined in the W3C documents Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) 1.1 (http://www.w3.org/TR/2000/NOTE-SOAP-20000508) and Web Services Description Language (WSDL) 1.1 (http://www.w3.org/TR/2001/NOTE-wsdl-20010315).

Version 7.0 introduced the Web Service design element, which lets you host a web service on your Domino server so that it can be called from other computers.

Version 8.0 introduced the ability to call web services hosted elsewhere, through special script libraries. With version 8.5, web services are called using a Web Service Consumer element. Web Service Provider design elements are used only for hosting Web Services.

(For more, also see Custom Access Tools in the answer below)

MYTH: Data stored in Notes can’t be accessed by outside systems and visa versa

Actually, there are many different options for moving data in and out of Notes databases.

OPTION: ODBC

You can programmatically access external databases from Domino using the LotusScript Data Object (LS:DO). LS:DO is a LotusScript extension library that provides classes for working with Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) in an object-oriented, event-driven programming environment.

LS:DO supports the OBDC Version 2.0 standard on multiple platforms, including Windows, OS/2, AIX, and Solaris. The LS:DO is available on both the Notes client and the Domino server. It works in both single- and multi-thread environments.

OPTION: NotesSQL.

The updated NotesSQL driver for Domino 8.x provides a driver that lets you open and query a Domino database through the ODBC interface. This allows any typical relational reporting tools to access Domino data.

OPTION: Domino Enterprise Connection Services

DECS is a visual tool and high performance server environment used to create applications for the Notes and/or browser clients that provide live, native access to enterprise data and applications. The visual tool includes an application wizard and online Help to assist you to define external data source connections -- for example, DB2, Oracle, Sybase, File directory, EDA/SQL, or ODBC -- and fields within your application that automatically contain external connector data.

OPTION: Lotus Enterprise Integrator

LEI extends DECS functionality beyond real-time data sources to include support for high volume data transfer and synchronization. Lotus Enterprise Integrator provides visual tools to manage integration between data sources without programming, including the capability to initiate event-driven or scheduled high volume data transfers between Domino applications and relational databases and other enterprise applications. Using LEI, attachments can be moved from a Domino database into an RDBMS table, making them readable from within the RDBMS itself. This can be done quickly and without writing a single line of script code. Lotus Enterprise Integrator also supports programmatic data transfers using LotusScript and Java Classes.

OPTION: Domino Connectors

Domino Connectors are modules that provide native connectivity to external, relational databases. You can access these connectors through the forms-based development tool in DECS, or through the Domino object classes using LotusScript or Java languages.

Lotus supplies additional connectors for ERP systems, if needed (sold separately).

OPTION: Custom Access Tools.

In addition to all of the above, we can easily build into any Domino application custom web services able to provide XML- or JSON-formatted data based on query level input (i.e., HTTP GET or POST calls). These services can easily be designed to meet the reporting needs of external applications and, since they are web based services defined by WSDL or a defined XML or JSON protocol, they can be consumed by other applications using standards-based approaches.

MYTH: Notes can’t use a rules engine

While it is true that neither the Lotus Notes client or Domino server includes a component identified as a “rules engine,” it is nevertheless an excellent platform on which to build such an engine.

In fact, rules engines are not only possible in Notes/Domino, they are an everyday part of what we do. Virtually all Notes/Domino applications from Teamwork Solutions include some form of user-configurable rules-based tools which are used for a wide range of purposes and applications including:

• Managing and controlling complex rules-based workflow processes.
  
  
• Building group insurance quotes, including pricing, for a broad range of products in many possible combinations through a fully-automated parameter-driven process.
  
  
• Identifying and tracking the documentation requirements for safely implementing significant changes to chemical manufacturing plants based on local, corporate, and regulatory requirements.
  
  
• Providing language-sensing and adaptation capabilities to Domino-based applications and interfaces.
  
  
• Configurable survey/compliance applications based on location, process, and multiple other factors which, together, determine a specific set of questions applicable to the current situation.
  
  
• Organic document approval sequencing based on the analysis and processing of user profile and request-specific datasets.
  
  

MYTH: Notes databases cannot safely exceed 4GB in size (and misc. other “Notes can’t do…” statements)

What's really amazing is that of all the numbers thrown around about Notes, the 4GB database size limitation seems to be the only one people remember. YES, there was once, long ago, a 4GB limitation. Before that, there was an even smaller size limitation.

Things change (except, apparently, this myth). People move on. In 1981, Bill Gates said, "640K ought to be enough for anyone." I'm willing to bet his opinion has changed. In 1900 they tried to close the US Patent Office because everything that could be invented had been. They're still Patenting things, last I heard.

So, yes, there was once, long long ago, a 4 Gig limit. However, in 1999, with the introduction of Release 5, the Notes database size limitations were raised to the lesser of 64GB or the operating system’s file size limitation. This was 10 years ago. A decade. Half a generation. A prior millenium, for crying out loud.

This shouldn't be news.

Today, the only limitations are those of the operating system. Not Notes...the Operating System. Notes itself has no inherent database size limitations. None. Zip. Zilch. Nada.

Let it die...

Other pertinent Lotus Notes limitations:

Maximum size of text fields	Limited only by available disk space up to 1GB
Maximum size of a rich text field	Limited only by available disk space up to 1GB
Maximum size of a single paragraph in a rich text field	64KB
Maximum amount of text (Summary) data per document	64KB
Levels of responses in a hierarchical view; number of documents at each level	31 levels; 300,000 documents per level (9.3 million documents, total...per database)
Number of columns that can be included in one table (Notes client)	64
Number of rows that can be included in one table (Notes client)	255
Number of views that can be added to a Notes application	No limit; however, as the number of views increases, the length of time to display other views also increases
Number of columns allowed in a view	289 ten-character columns; the actual number of columns is dependent upon the number of characters per column so may vary somewhat from this.
Number of documents that can be imported into a view at one time	Documents totaling at least 350K
Number of documents are allowed in one view	Up to the size of the Notes application, with a maximum of 64GB
Maximum number of documents that can be exported to Tabular Text	Limited only by available disk space
Maximum number of recipients in a single mail message	For individual names and private groups which expand locally, 15KB; for public groups which expand on a server, 5MB
Maximum number of discrete fields in a database	Approximately 3,000 unless “Allow more fields in database” is enabled in the database properties.

So, what myths do you hear all the time?

1. Keith Ryan08/21/2009 01:21:24 PM
Homepage: http://lotusnotesempire.blogspot.com

That's funny that you and I had a blog about the look of Notes applications and we posted them within 6 minutes.

-Keith

2. Scott Good08/21/2009 01:48:38 PM
Homepage: http://www.scottgood.com

Hi Keith,

What's even funnier is that I have a list of subjects I intend to blog about and when I was picking today's I almost chose "Why looks matter (in your apps)." I'll do that another day.

Cheers,

Scott

And BTW, I agree with what you said in your blog about this.

3. David Leedy08/21/2009 03:55:16 PM
Homepage: http://www.lotusnotebook.com

Scott,
Where are you getting the information on text fields? My help file (8.5x) says:

"32KB (storage); 32KB displayed in a view's column"

This jumped out at me because I was burned my this recently on a web project. I was trying to store too much data in a notes field that I was using for a dropdown control.

4. Scott Good08/21/2009 04:27:36 PM
Homepage: http://www.scottgood.com

Hm....I dunno...it's been a while since I looked <i>that</i> up. I'll have to look around and see where it came from...

5. Henning Heinz08/22/2009 06:08:30 AM

I was happy to read that too but I think it is wrong.
Ben also maintains a limits site
15KB per (summary) text field;
64KB per (non-summary) text field;
30KB of fields per document (storage); 15KB displayed in a view's column
http://www.geniisoft.com/showcase.nsf/DominoLimits
Unfortunately IBM has not yet committed to improve any of the internal Domino limits.

6. Vitor Pereira08/22/2009 06:38:13 AM
Homepage: http://www.vitor-pereira.com

Just to add to "moving data in and out", I also use MQ\Series or Websphere MQ as they call it now.

7. LongLiveLotus08/22/2009 07:44:52 AM

awesome post

8. Peter Presnell08/24/2009 10:22:02 AM
Homepage: http://www.bleedyellow.com/blogs/dotdomino

Are you 100% sure of the "No Limit" on database size? I have always worked on the assumption it still remained at 64GB and Ben's site seems to suggest this is still the case. I would like to break thee myths once an for all too but it appears it is not just our customers that are confused.

9. Scott Good08/24/2009 10:39:40 AM
Homepage: http://www.scottgood.com

According to the Help in my Domino Designer 8.5, "The size limit is the maximum size that this application can occupy on disk. In this release of IBM® Lotus Notes®, there is no size limit."

I was bound to get ONE of these right!

10. Scott Good08/24/2009 10:41:21 AM
Homepage: http://www.scottgood.com

@Henning: That sounds right. Looks like the parenthetic "(Summary)" was supposed to be "(non-summary)." Thanks for clearing this up.

11. Erik Brooks08/24/2009 09:41:47 PM

IIRC the "no limit" was recently listed as an error in the 8.5 documentation -there's still a limit of 64GB of storage size, but this can be *excluding* attachments if the DB is on a server with DAOS enabled.

12. Simon O'Doherty08/25/2009 05:57:14 AM
Homepage: http://www.bleedyellow.com/blogs/Simon/

While the websites are nice, it doesn't show off some of the new CompApp stuff on the client. Some customer examples I've seen are very impressive, and if you didn't know it beforehand wouldn't believe it was Notes.

Also to expand on the Web Services. You can also do RESTful web services on Domino and 8.x has JSON support built in. Nice write up here.

http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/lotus/library/domino-rest/

13. Dan Holzrichter08/25/2009 10:14:23 AM

There was still a 64 GB limit as of version 7 on windows. I have several databases that were at the limit (which have since been broken up ). What's remarkable is that even when nearly 64 GB the performance was still pretty good.

14. David Hablewitz08/25/2009 08:24:33 PM

Nice to see factual rather than fictional. Regarding WHY people seem to ignore reality, two reasons are Commitment and Consistency. "I made this choice in the past. These new facts are inconsistent with the conclusions I have already made. Therefore, these new facts must be wrong." The reality is that we are all influenced by and susceptible to this behavior. In fact, it is human nature to ignore information that is inconsistent with the conclusions you have already made. So it is no surprise to me to hear people clinging to these false beliefs.

You can find a much better explanation of this and other related topics in the book: "Influence: The psychology of persuasion" by Robert B. Caildini, PH.D. This is required reading for many MBA programs and marketing degrees. An eye-opener particularly for us computer professionals more accustomed to the pure logical responses from computers.

15. Roger Rowan08/27/2009 10:56:30 AM

Scott,

I've not looked at the posted limits in Notes 8 but there most certainly was, and I believe still is, a hard coded limit on data size of 64GB. We've actually hit this and database operations stop. You can't access it. The only thing that saved us is that we could compact it and get it below the 64 GB limit and then we could archive documents. This limit was confirmed by IBM technical support. When asked at Lotusphere 2008 when the limt would be removed the comment was they were considering raising the limit to 128GB but that had not made it into the code base at that time. Granted there are ways around the limit especially with DAOS now and incorporating archiving there are still the limits. I will note that the documentation does say storage is limited only to the limitations of the OS but there in the fine print at the bottom of the page was the 64 GB limit note.

16. Selvi09/23/2011 04:48:09 AM
Homepage: http://in lotus notes Web service access not getting on eclipse plug in project

I'm facing a problem related to web service access on lotus notes. I'm developing a project that uses a web service call to get share point document library in lotus notes. All the web service access methods are implemented on net beans and created a jar files, I imported that jar files in eclipse and configured the project to run as lotus notes application. But web service access is possible only when running as a standalone application, When we run as lotus notes configuration, the "Server Send Http code 400: bad request" error getting. We are using Domino server7.0 and lotus client 8.5...

Please help me to solve this issue, because we are trying to solve this issue for last 2 weeks.

17. Scott Good09/23/2011 09:50:39 AM
Homepage: http://www.scottgood.com

Hi Selvi,

I a little unclear about exactly what it is you've gotten yourself into there. It sounds like you have a little bit of everything involved. SharePoint,, .NET, beans, Java, Notes, etc.

I shared your post with Henry Newberry and our guess (and it is only a guess) is that you have a functional web service consumer written in Java as a stand alone program which runs against a web service on the SharePoint server. When you then try to use the consumer from Notes, the Java methods are not the same as for your stand-alone Java application because, well, Notes has its own class libraries which may be separate. Simply importing the jar files into the database is not enough to make them usable by a web service consumer.

Domino Web Service Consumers can be built in LotusScript or Java, but most of our experience has been on the LotusScript side. Once configured the consumers can then be used by agents and other code written in the same language. In the case of a Java consumer it would then be used by Notes agents written in Java or Script Libraries written in Java. It is likely that the code in the JAR files can be linked into the agent or script libraries, but we would need to know more about the specifics of your project to give real, actual, advice.

If this is a project you'd like us to take on (for a fee), I'd be happy to discuss it. Feel free to drop me an e-mail to discuss.

Thanks,

Scott