GFI assists in writing the IBM Redbook: Building Domino Web Applications with Domino 8.5.1

Lotus, IBM® Redbooks® and selected partners have worked together to share best practices for developing Domino 8.5 Web applications. Redbooks for Lotus products are no longer printed but instead they are published as online wikis.

GFI was asked to assist in parts of the Redbook 'Building Domino Web Applications with Domino 8.5.1' and we have taken this opportunity with both hands. We focussed on the use of XPages on the Notes client side. XPages is new technology in Domino/Notes 8.5 and GFI believes it's important to invest in this area. This investment will help us in delivering quality and added value for our customers.

GFI has asked Pascal David to take the lead in writing several articles with assistance of other GFI consultants. He is an IBM Certified Senior Consultant and he's been working for 15 years as a Lotus Notes and Domino development specialist. Being a web development consultant since the first release of Lotus Domino, he has worked on countless web projects at customers, from small business website developments to corporate intranet platform implementations. He is also product manager of GFI's own Lotus Notes based Web Content Management solution WebDotNSF.

What are XPages?

An XPage is a new Domino Designer design element that lets you create Web 2.0 enabled pages based on the JSF technology. By using XPages, you can reduce the development effort to create a Notes application since it will run in both the Notes client and a web browser. Conventional development will require you to create an interface for the Notes client and one for the web browser client. You'll also get a richer experience by using the pre-built controls in your development and the technology requires no steep training curves.

Initially, Xpages were supported only in a web browser but IBM has brought this technology to the Notes 8.5.1 client and is investing heavily to enrich the possibilities in future updates of Notes and Domino. XPages remove barriers to Web programming in Domino by providing advanced page design capabilities like using pre-built controls and AJAX.

GFI is recognized as a valuable partner

During the writing of this Redbook, GFI was recognized by people at Lotus Software. They praised the quality of work both in the technical aspect of this project and the documentation that was produced.

John M. Bergland - Project Leader - Lotus/Portal Technologies at IBM: "Going forward, I would welcome any chance to work with Pascal David again, or any other members of GFI Belgium. He represents the quality, integrity and skills which I think IBM values in its most valuable Business Partners."