I am always thinking of ways that we, the IBM Notes and Domino Application Development Community, can engage developers both within our community and -- most importantly for the long-term success of IBM Notes and Domino as an application platform -- beyond the existing community.

OpenNTF.org is apparently not only always thinking, but always doing as they just announced their latest sponsored XPages and Connections development contests...

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2013 promises to be an amazing year for the advancement of certain technologies, and I truly think the end of others. Here are some of my predictions for 2013 for IBM Notes and Domino, trends in enterprise and consumer technology, and more.

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I've talked in the past about an absolute need for an app store for IBM Collaborative Solutions (Say it with me: App Stores define the product! and Yes, we *do* need a Lotus App Store...!, just to highlight two posts). I've had great personal success selling $5 Lotus Notes Client applications. Of course, I define great both in that I'm able to help someone out with a pretty cheap cost solution and purchases allow me to pay for my Netflix and XBox Live subscriptions. I'm by no means retiring off of the proceeds from someone buying Junction Lite...

I digress.

With the tonal shift towards modernization of IBM Lotus Notes Client applications in the form of creating XPages-based versions of those same apps, I can completely understand the sales of any consumer-facing solutions specifically designed for the Lotus Notes client waning.

So what can XPages-savvy IBM Lotus Notes Domino application developers do to weekend warrior some solutions to pay for their own Netflix and XBox Live subscriptions?

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(This was the first time I've used the Vendor - Commercial disclaimer on one of my posts... Not too sure if it's a perfectly accurate description tho, so mind the intro to the review/giveaway.)

I was one of the technical editors for the latest XPages development book from IBM Press: XPages Extension Library: A Step-by-Step Guide to the Next Generation of XPages Components... so I might be a little biased. As such, I'm not going to "review" this book, as much as I'm going to discuss it -- using my typical review format -- and let you make your own decision. For what it's worth (spoiler alert!), I'd absolutely recommend this book. It's an invaluable resource for any developer using the IBM XPages development platform as of 8.5.3 Update Pack 1, or even previous versions with the OpenNTF.org Extension Library installed. I was paid to act as one of the technical editors on the book, and the majority of the feedback I provided to the authors resulted in updates to the book. Things like "great, but an example of this showing this would really help" or "this example is kinda out of context without the rest of the XPages XML markup showing exactly how they can do it".

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I looked at this book not as someone who has been developing in XPages prior to it's 2008 in-product release, I read the book as someone new to the Extension Library and somewhat familiar with XPages... and someone that would actually have to use these Controls to duplicate functionality for their Lotus Notes Client applications while extending (or in some cases, evolving) those applications to meet their user expectations of what enterprise-level web applications can do.

Hopefully that gives you an idea, at least, into my role in this book. Not all of my suggestions were taken -- as I'm certain not all of my suggestions were good -- but both the authors and the technical editors (of which I was one) did their best to create a product that not only showcased the capabilities of the technology, but also gave you something that you could actually use in your day-to-day application development efforts.

Again, spoiler alert, I think they succeeded. Again, I might be biased. But then I don't think you really care if I am biased, as long as I keep to the previous format... which I think gives you enough insight into the book to know whether it's something you'll want in your own arsenal.

... and with no further ado...

(Click thru for the complete review & giveaway...)

Featuring an all-star cast of characters, the XPages Guru Webinar on Jun 1, 2011 from 11:00AM - 12:00PM (Eastern).

I'll be covering how to go from biting your mousepad trying to get a $$SearchTemplateDefault to render search results juuuuuuuust right to bringing Rapid Application Development back to IBM Lotus Notes Domino for multiple-client support.

And I won't be alone!

Agenda

• What is XPages? - Matt White
• Case Studies - Discussion database, XTalk, etc. - Bruce Elgort
• Benefits of XPages - Matt White
• Why should I transition? - Tim Tripcony
• Roadmap to XPages (How do I get from here to there?) - Chris Toohey
• What resources are out there? - David Leedy
• Q & A

C'mon, what else are you going to be doing on June 1st? Might as well sign up and get your learn on from some of the best in the business using one of the latest and most powerful tools in the IBM Lotus Notes and Domino developer kit to produce some truly enterprise-grade solutions while shattering preconceptions of the functional capabilities of the Lotus Notes Domino platform.

... or y'know, you could re-write that search in LotusScript and use Prints so you finally have complete control over what's written to the browser after a Full Text Search.