I wanted my upcoming XPage Maps proof of concept (IBM Lotus Notes Domino XPages + Personal Address Book + Google Maps Mashup) to be a little more user friendly than I had originally intended. See, my original goal was to simply query address data from the Lotus Notes Client Personal Address Book and use that address data for runtime queries to Latitude and Longitude info... and then show those as locations on the map via pin overlays.

A decent demo, but it really doesn't do much in the way of using the data.

So I thought that I would not only generate the balloon/popup overlays triggered via an onclick on the given pin, but also use -- if available -- the ContactPhoto for the individual pin overlay.

Now, for those of you not familiar with the concepts I'm using here -- which rely as much on traditional IBM Lotus Notes Domino Web Application Development as much as XPages and SSJS -- here is the short, short version of the principles used here.

Combining IBM Lotus Notes Domino XPages with the Google Maps Data API, my proof-of-concept mashup app leverages NotesData stored in the Personal Address Book (names.nsf). Article - complete with source code - should be available later this week!

If you're interested in being part of the demo, send me your business-friendly vCard containing your contact info -- complete with OfficeStreetAddress, OfficeCity, OfficeState, OfficeZip, and ContactPhoto -- I'll get them into the local Personal Address Book NotesDatabase.

There is not a day that passes that I'm not asked what should be a rather simple question to answer:

I'm new to Lotus, can you recommend any books or websites to help me get started?

These questions come from a mix of people, most needing to pick up Lotus product family platform development for a particular task or assignment. I do find that more and more are asking me -- having found me through Google, Facebook, Twitter, et al -- after downloading Domino Designer in Eclipse... and now they're not too sure what to do next.

They're all looking for books, websites, wikis, and even training courses on this platform. And while there are excellent resources out there today -- maintained by both IBM and the members of the Lotus Online Community -- it's my opinion that we are no where near where we need to be in addressing the demand for knowledge of this platform... and that it will ultimately bring about it's downfall.

(Click thru for more...)

Despite the scheduled time slots (my fault, I assure you), those that attended my XPages, Mobile, and MVC architecture sessions at The View Lotus developer2010 apparently liked what I had to say!

I had heard feedback from individuals brave kind enough to share their thoughts on my two sessions, and I shared a lot of what I learned at the conference in this follow-up post... but while I peaked at my feedback, I didn't have the hard numbers.

The other day, WIS Publishing sent me the official feedback...

Pre-populating Fields via Query String Parameters is really the first step to developing custom APIs for your IBM Lotus Notes Domino applications. Once you understand the possible relationship between URL and the available View layer (for MVC enthusiasts), you can combine NotesData management with functional Domino URL Commands to create some pretty slick features for your apps.

This article will show you how you can pre-populate UI Fields on both Traditional Form Design Elements and XPages via URL Query String Parameters.

By the end of this article, you will be able to use this technique in your IBM Lotus Notes Domino Web Applications regardless of version or release of the Domino Server.

(Click thru for more on Form and XPage Design Element UI Field pre-population...)