The Extension Library xe:switchFacet Control is quickly becoming my favorite go-to tool for Custom Control development work... but I don't think I use them in what might be considered a traditional sense.

Those of you familiar with a JavaScript Switch will immediately understand what the xe:switchFacet Control does. For everyone else (or for those of you looking for a "how a Lotus Notes developer would understand this" explanation), here's the breakdown...

(Click thru for the complete article and online demo...)

I tend to attack the actual development phase of a project the same way most authors work on a manuscript: blast through, getting it on the page (warts and all), just to fill the page. If you can keep the momentum going, slamming through the project, and establish a first draft, you should have the time to revisit the project as a whole and find areas which require revisions.

For example, in the current project that I've been working on... my first pass consisted of me coding to match the user experience established in the project outline and UI wireframes. Once that was finished, I was able to dive back into the code to see where improvements -- functionality, code singularity, and ease-of-maintenance -- could be made.

This project, which unlike the majority of my dayjob projects, I'll actually be able to show you... but until we're finished and for the purposes of this post, the project required that I display both NotesData and external data from various web services and APIs in small, consumable bites...

(Click thru for the complete article and online demo...)

I received an email the other day from a reader asking the following:

Are you aware of a xpages demo database that creates a Marquee from a notes view - I'm guessing it is easy to do with a repeat control but can't find anything for the life of me!

At first, I had no idea what they meant by a "marquee", but after a few more email exchanges I had an answer: a simple content scroller, something that will slide/scroll content from one side of the screen to another, like a stock ticker.

What I found was interesting and quite frankly a huge find for a project that I'm currently working on that needed a navigable content carousel...

(Click thru for the complete article and online demo...)

One of the true killer features of XPages for any IBM Lotus Notes Domino application developer is the native ability to create a remote data source for any UI control, thus quickly extending or integrating with an existing Lotus Notes or Domino Web accessible NotesDatabase. However I have found that when you define a remote data source for a given xp:viewPanel or another data source-driven control... things really tend to slow down...

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Extending the Extension Library xe:djBorderContainer, this take on a "Lotus Notes Client frameset" for XPages shows how we can create a reusable layout-type Custom Control that provides an alternative to an OneUI application layout.

Now while I don't hate OneUI themeing for XPages applications, I think it's absolutely critical to the adoption of XPages as an application services platform that we show the ability to serve alternative application UIs lest people unfamiliar with the technologies at play think XPages is OneUI...

Let's kick things off with an overview of the desired end-result...

(Click thru for the complete build and online demo.)