A couple of weeks ago I explained that, even though the UI of DQL Explorer is a React app, the use of DQL is in agents. The two key agents, found within the NSF itself are runDQLExplain and runDQLQuery - the purpose of each should be apparent from the name. But the purpose of this blog post is to outline the interaction points between DQL Explorer and Domino.
In the pursuit of optimal code coverage with JUnit tests, there will inevitably be code that interacts with environments that are not available at the time of compiling the code. The solution here is mocking.
tl;dr - anything you're doing on Domino, but the message doesn't seem to have reached everyone.
DQL has been at the forefront of my radar since Domino V10 over a year ago. If I remember correctly, documentation wasn't immediately available in Domino Designer's Help, but was soon published online. It's been at the heart of sessions and advances ever since. It's often been discussed alongside the app dev pack, which allows Node.js applications to interact with Domino via the proton task. And judging from a couple of discussions in different fora over the last week, it appears the connection between DQL and the app dev pack seems a little too close. It seems to have led some to ignore DQL assuming it's only for Node.js development.
It's just over six weeks until the first user group conference of the year, the always excellent Engage. And I will be speaking again this year, with three sessions.
As I sit in the airport awaiting my flights back to the UK, I'm reflecting on a busy and eventful 10 days in Manila. For those not aware, in addition to some global members of the team, the bulk of the HCL Labs technical team are based in Manila in the Philippines. This was my first chance to meet the team in person, as well as my first chance since joining HCL to sit down with Stephan Wissel in person. Those who were at Collabsphere got a sneak peek at what the team has been working on. But with the start of 2020, it's time to ramp up planning for the user groups and factory tours this year, starting with Engage.
My experience with unit testing with either JUnit or TestNG is limited. With Domino development, business logic is often tightly coupled to accessing the underlying database. That makes automated testing a challenge. Similarly, the development of OpenNTF Domino API has been typically focused on code that interacts with the Domino server and databases, again making automated testing challenging. Where data persistence and the database-layer API is the main focus of the development, creating mock classes doesn't really bring much benefit. So it was Watson Workspace Java SDK which was my main experience of JUnit testing. Unit tests make a lot of sense where the business logic is about managing REST service access, both inbound and outbound.
This week is going to be a big week for the HCL Digital Solutions brands and it started late last night with the announcement of the 2020 crop of HCL Mastershttps://www.cwpcollaboration.com/class_of_2020.html. Congratulations to all who were selected, it continues HCL's commitment to the community and those who go above and beyond to bring benefits to all who use the products.
About a year ago I did a blog post on Domino on Docker, with the intention to follow it up on developing against that Domino Docker server via Notes Client and integrating with it from other Docker containers or outside of Docker. Unfortunately other things got in the way, and it then got put on hold pending the work Thomas Hampel and Daniel Nashed were doing on the IBM repository for Domino on Docker and Roberto Boccadoro's Domino on Docker guide posted on OpenNTF's wiki guides site.
The world of HCL Digital Solutions is evolving rapidly. This brings a lot of excitement but also a lot of challenges. The last certification exams for Domino were in the era of Domino 8.5. Training materials have also languished a lot - official ones from the vendor and from elsewhere, as the ecosystem has contracted. At the same time, the product has diversified and expanded.
After 14 and a half years at Intec, I'm moving on to pastures new. I've learned a lot and developed in ways that were never envisaged by anyone when I started at Intec. I'm very fortunate to have had a company that backed me, and I think we've both benefited greatly. But I've always sought to embrace opportunities and accept responsibilities throughout my career. And now is no different.