Web Content Management with Lotus Domino

Andrew PollackNorthern Collaborative Technologieshttp://www.thenorth.com

Proud member of The Penumbra Group

http://www.penumbragroup.com

What We'll Cover

Choosing Domino for Web contentSupporting multiple languagesSecuring a Domino applicationExploring an actual content management system

Publish or Perish

Check back weekly for new content! Last updated July 3, 1998

Content draws users, graphics don't Well, at least not business graphics

Web designers know code, not content

How is a Web Page Like a Wedding Invitation?

You want just a few lines of simple contentYou pay an expert to produce itIt takes two weeks to see the resultThe expert never gets it right the first timeCan I have that in Kanji?

Power to The People

The content owner is the best author Its their audience Its their interest area Its usually their language Its their budget

If you give them control of the page It will be what they want You can focus on other things

Summary: Top 5 Reasons To Let Content Owners Publish

They need it todayBudget? What budget?"Just a little more to the left..."Don't have any web developers who speak CantoneseOtherwise, you have to do it yourself

Where Domino Fits

Front ends and back ends and middleware, Oh my!Domino, WebSphere, and DB2 -- who does what?What scale really means

Front ends

Interaction with the userGreat for holding informationNot so good for storing dataLotus Domino, Apache

Back ends

Great for holding lots of dataNot so good for storing informationIBM DB2, Oracle, SQL ServerLotus Domino

Middleware

Ties the front end to the back endContains business and security logicPuts the Bop, in the Bop-Shu-bop adds dynamic data

Servlets, JSP'sLotus Domino forms and agents

The 100% Domino Model

Middleware: LotuScript, Java, Javascript, @Formulas, Agents,

Events

Design: Framesets, Pages, Navigators, Outlines ... so

much more!

Data Storage: Domino Databases

Big Happy Domino Server

Domino, WebSphere, & DB2 - The J2EE Model

Middleware = WebSphere : Servlets & JSP

Design = Domino: Framesets, Pages, Navigators,

Outlines.....

Data Storage = DB2

Domino is design

From concept to creation -- rapid developmentIt's a flexible container -- a great place for your stuffAuthentication and authorization are built in

DB2 is transactional data

Price listsParts inventoryFinancial dataMulti-phase commit

WebSphere is Middleware

Connects Domino's design to DB2's dataThousands of transactions per second

What Scale Really Means - Data

How Much DataIf you're talking about millions of records its Data. Put it in a relational database.Yes, I know you CAN put millions of documents into a Domino database, but think about the data firstIs it content or transactions?

What Scale Really Means - Users

How Many Users?Web users are like snowflakes One isn't a problem, it's when they

gang up They're really cold -- when they get

angry

Is it content or transactions?

Content is "easy" to serveTransactions are harderWhere is the data?

Summary: Where Domino Fits

Domino is Design Can also be middleware and/or data

storage

WebSphere is middleware Great for high volume and

transactions

DB2 is data storage -- and lots of it If you're talking about millions of

anything, its probably data

Domino WANTS to be multilingual

Just turn it on and let it go!Tools like Global WorkbenchAutomatic content translation toolsMy favorite settings Those that make my customers

happy

Domino is multilingual inside!

ASCII? One byte per character? How 80's of you! That went out with big

hair and alligator shirts

Speaking Chinese runs in families Language properties are part of the text --

they come from the author

So why do you have to do anything? Many languages have several different

versions and character sets

Design Tools like Global Workbench

These tools are GREAT for design elementsCan be hard to retrofitBest if used when creating new applicationsThese tools are not helpful for content translation

Automatic Content Translation Tools

The holy grail of content managementNot quite there, but getting betterProvide users "the gist" of the pageCan be useful, but a high cost for imperfect translationUsers are still better

My Favorite Language Settings

Lesson

These are the settings chosen by the content owners at my largest customer...

Securing a Domino Application

This is a REALLY BIG topicHow secure do you need it?First, protect the operating systemAuthentication vs. authorizationSecurity vs. obscurityData security vs. transmission security

How secure do you need it?

What kind of data is being served? Personal information Medical or financial information Business planning data Competitive information

Are there legal requirements? Many kinds of credit, medical, and personal

data have specific legal security requirements

First, Protect the Operating System

The OS is the door to everything Get in that door, and the data is open

Anything that listens is vulnerable File sharing, printer sharing, universal plug 'n

access

A quality firewall closes the doors Doesn't let anything talk to what's listening

Keep up to date on patchesKeep up to date on warnings HTTP://WWW.CERT.ORG

Authentication tells us who you are

Name and password = secret handshake Be careful of who's watching!

Trusted certificates = a photo ID Difficult to forge, but frustrating to some users

Bio authentication = well, Bio authentication Your thumb should not have value if detached

from your hand.

Authorization tells us what you can do

Access control groupsACL entries -- including rolesReader and author field data types

Security is protected data, even if you know where it is

Read access fields$ViewTemplateDefaultFile and directory controlsDatabase ACLs

Obscurity is hidden data

Non-linked pagesHidden viewsDocument indexesMany skilled users DO know how to get this dataEven less skilled users will try url hacking to see what's there

Transmission security -- stopping the man in the middle

Make sure the person you're talking to is the only one you're talking toSniffers can read the packetsSSL encrypts the connectionBasic authentication without SSL is wide open to the man in the middle

Summary: Securing A Domino Application

First, secure the operating systemBuild the application carefullyObscurity is not securityUse the access control toolsDon't forget the 'man in the middle‘

A Real Content Management System

Automatic layout makes your colors brighter and your whites whiter! Any simple text can look great with

the right layout design around it!

Never let them see you sweat Don't show users links to pages they

don't have access rights to view!

The layout defines the overall look and feel

Store the layout as a header & footer subform and display it on the web

Add some simple rich text

Display it through the layout

Automating Index Pages

Index pages provide quick, organized access to contentAvoid showing secure links to users without authorization to use them

Here's A Sample Index Page

Index pages are heavily coded for optimal design

Link definitions fill in the lookup view

Reader Names fields keep the link from from the view, preventing display for users who

cannot access the content

Notes view lookup returns a resultThe view column formula....

Creates html output for each document....

Which gets included right onto the form

Rich Text Rocks for Content Owners

Easy to use -- just like mailSupports the content owner's languageFlexible and powerful for advanced users Store HTML and Javascript natively Don't forget tools like Midas to create

and manage rich text programatically

An Actual Content Management System

Screenshots are Taken from live sites

Creating content

Controlling access

Sample Rich Text Based Content

More Rich Text Power

Editor Approval Cycles -- That's Old Hat

This is basic workflowLotus Notes has OWNED this space since it invented the stuff more than 10 years agoTo implement workflow in new sites, check out Lotus Workflow 3.x

Your Turn!

This presentation at Admin 2002 goes into a few more topics and is more in depthYou’re welcome to contact me

Andrewp@thenorth.com http://www.thenorth.com

I’m also doing “Development Tips & Tricks for Administrators” at Admin 2002Now its time for Questions & Answers

Questions?

•Submit your questions now by clicking on the “Ask A Question” button in the bottom left corner of your presentation screen.