Re: Text field lengths and external DataBases.

Scott,

I'll check the Sandbox again. We are looking for something that will either limit the amount of input during typing or at least give a character counter keystroke by keystroke like some web page inputs. An overview of Notes 6 said that there were almost twice as many classes available as Notes 5.

As far as communications we looked at LEI but it was too expensive for the size of the project. DECs was a possibility but some of the mapping ended up needing agents anyway so we went with the native ODBC. The agent loads the server copies each evening and copies the new server data to DB2 each morning. The users replicate to their notebooks first and last thing each day. The user are not allowed to update only create documents so the agents are somewhat simpler. If it had been a full update in both implementations with the Notes side being disconnected things would have been a lot more complicated even with Domino's great replication and conflict handling.

I am not sure if the native ODBC will talk to a system other than the one the agent is running on. If it won't can you set up DDM files on the host system that point to the actual data hosting system?

Roger Vicker, CCP

On 1/22/2003 9:27 AM, Scott Johnson wrote:

Roger,

There are many ways to do field validation. Probably more ways than there
are ice cream flavors at Baskin&Robbins. Most of the better ones seem to
use JavaScript on the Form to do the validation. Go to the Sandbox on
Notes.net and search for validation. If I remember correctly there is an
issue with JavaScript not working nicely in the 5.0.* Notes clients. On
browsers it works great. I think in Notes 6, JavaScript runs in the client
a lot better. Plus I think there are a couple of new events available in
the Notes 6 Client that help adding validation a lot easier.

A side question. What are you using to "talk" back and forth between Notes
and DB2/400? DECS? LEI? Home Grown? We are in the middle of a project
where we are front ending the maintenance of our Product data in
Notes/Domino running on one iSeries. The Product Data is actually located
in DB2/400 on a different iSeries for fulfillment purposes. I am up
against a real big wall in trying to decide how to shuttle the actual data
back and forth. The two big things I have left on this project are data
movement and field validation. I started work on it under 5, we are now
going to re-do it in Notes 6. So I am hoping that 6 will make things
easier.

--
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Scott P. Johnson
Applications Development Team Coordinator
Microcomputer Development Specialist
IBM Certified Specialist - AS/400 RPG Programmer
Highsmith Inc.
W5527 Hwy 106, PO BOX 800
Fort Atkinson, WI 53538-0800
TEL: 920-563-9571 FAX: 920-563-7395
sjohnson@highsmith.com
www.highsmith.com
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Hello,

We have put a Domino/Notes face on a DB2 application using Domino 5.0.10
(soon Domino 6) and are having problems with text fields.

Since this is based on a DB2 application running on an iSeries the text
fields have a fixed length however in the Notes client the only way to
limit the input is by issuing an error message after the user's input
:-( or by truncating :-( :-( in the code. The users really hate having
to retype their text or guessing at how much will fit and usually end up
with very short lines that waste a lot of database space.

In addition there are areas where a memo is attached to a master record.
Again, with a DB2 backend this is structured as an unlimited number of
fixed length records, each representing a line.

Surely with the number of Domino applications interfacing with other
databases that use fixed length fields someone has developed a better
way of making the Notes client keep the fields compatible.

I would appreciate any code _snipits_ or addresses that could help with
these situations.

Thanks.

Roger Vicker, CCP

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A conference with the IRS is a taxing proposition.

--
*** Vicker Programming and Service *** Have bits will byte *** www.vicker.com ***
If it ain't broke yet, let me have a shot at it.