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Why this book | |||
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This book is the direct result of an encounter I had while shopping. I met a woman who quickly identified me as a computer person. (Do I have a sign on my back?) When I agreed, she stated that four months previously she became a Notes Developer at a company where I had done some Notes work. I responded that I was a top Notes consultant, had done several projects for her company, and asked about her current project. Her response was to ask, "Have you written a book?" When I responded in the negative, she walked away.
This encounter illustrates some of the differences between Notes people and the rest of the world. If this conversation was with a normal person, we would have discussed mutual acquaintances. If this conversation was with a manager, we would have discussed how technology could help her business. If this conversation was with a normal technologist, we would have discussed our current projects, technical problems, and the general state of technology. There is a good chance that one of us would suggest discussing the employment opportunities in the area and at our company. Most Notes people are given the job of understanding the Notes platform because they are available, not because they have any talent with computers. They do not discuss job opportunities since they were given the job because they are loyal to their company. They do not believe in networking for jobs. Most Notes people do not understand technology unless the information comes from a book. They do not believe in networking for assistance with technology because few of them understand what they do well enough to explain it to another person. The main place they look for assistance is Notes.net, where questions are often answered by employees of IBM. (Notes.net has been called the "Lotus Developer Domain" after IBM eliminated the Iris web site. It is currently being merged into the "IBM DeveloperWorks" website as part of IBM's effort to destroy the Notes community.) This book discusses the business logic for using Notes and technical techniques for building applications. This book explains why Notes is the most powerful application platform yet, what benefits Notes brings to any application, and how to build applications to do things that most Notes developers and all Lotus/IBM employees "know" are impossible. The book is fairly critical of the Notes product. This is not stating that Notes is not the best product for business communication. This book should increase awareness of its flaws. I am very critical about how IBM is developing (or not developing) Notes. The book explains my perception of IBM's strategy, and why that strategy is detrimental to the Notes platform. Just because IBM does not understand this product is not a good reason for you not to use it. After all, you have this book to help you overcome IBM's antipathy. My hope is that this book will fall into the hands of real programmers and their managers. This book explains why using the Notes platform can make every size company more productive. The most difficult task will be overcoming the reputation that Notes is slow; if you are a real programmer, or hire real programmers to build your applications, this will not be an issue for you.
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