The glue that was Lotus Notes/Domino
Alot of us Domino devs have lately been asking the question “What is happening to the Domino that we knew”, or something to that effect. Although I have asked the question, I never seemed to figure out why I was asking it. I always enjoy learning new technologies, so why would I give a hoot which products come and which products go? The fact of the matter is, the more technology changes, the more technologists are needed. Recently, I think I have finally put the finger on exactly why I keep asking that question. It’s not about J2EE vs .NET, nor is it about IBM vs Microsoft; it is because Domino looks like it may no longer be the glue.
For the last 12 years that I have worked with Notes and Domino, it always seemed like Notes was the wildcard in the larger IT strategy of an organizaiton. A company could be a Microsoft shop, and still have Notes for e-mail, and workflow applications. Another company could be a J2EE shop, and have Notes/Domino for the same reasons. With the two super-highways of IT technology on either side, Lotus Notes and Domino was like an elevated train going right down the middle of the two worlds. Crossing over was relatively easy with the various API’s, and XML technologies, but it just seemed like Notes and Domino co-existed in both worlds. Even LotusScript was tolerated as an additional technology because of its similarities to other languages.
Although at present these things have not changed, the feeling that they will is palpable. We know that the @Formula language most likely has a short lifespan, and it certainly follows that although LotusScript will have a somewhat longer lifespan, it is still doomed for the technology dustheap. Which, in the long run, leaves Notes and Domino as part of the J2EE world. Even with the continuation of the API’s (which is not guaranteed), and the ease of XML technologies, the perception will always place Notes and Domino in the J2EE world, and might alienate the product from the other customers that do not adopt that development path. We are no longer the glue between the two worlds. The lines are being drawn and we may be forced to take sides.
I never subscribed to the IBM/Microsoft animosity (aka the “Microsoft Sucks” crowd), so it is depressing to me since I used to thrive in that middle ground. I used to enjoy watching the two fight it out, while chomping on chips in the cubicle next door, knowing that regardless of the outcome, Notes and Domino would fit in, but that may be changing. It may take 5 years, it may take 10, it may never happen that way at all. The future is not written in stone and I always enjoy surprises.
*sigh*