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Build your own database analysis tool (continued)
Honestly, I'm saving up my pennies for an analysis tool like Ives Development's TeamStudio Analyzer or Ciao. But, since I was studying LotusScript to take the LotusScript in Notes for Advanced Developers exam anyway (which I passed - Yeah!), I decided to go the hard and dirty route and make a tool to help analyze databases myself. On the journey, I rediscovered why I love using LotusScript. Almost any information you want to get or anything that you want to do is possible if you're patient enough.
Use this tool (a lonely developer's best friend)
I think it was Thomas Carlisle who said, "Man is a tool-using animal. Without tools he is nothing. With tools he is all." I'm about to share with you one of my favorite tools that I keep handy when doing any sort of LotusScript development. It's a Lotus site that explains in detail all of the different properties and methods of the Notes classes. I used it extensively when doing this article to help find examples that I couldn't find anywhere else. Get your bookmarking finger ready and bookmark the following link: http://www.lotus.com/products/lotusscript.nsf.
I'm sure you'll find that this site is a great reference when doing any type of LotusScript development. It lists the class information for both 4.5 and 4.6 (hopefully 5.0 will be posted soon as well).
Shooting properties in a barrel
When I first came up with the idea for this application, I discovered that the NotesDatabase class is rich with properties. Table A shows some of the different database properties that the agent retrieves for the Database Information Form along with their data types:
| NotesDatabase Property |
Data Type |
| Title |
String |
| File Path |
String |
| Size |
Double |
| ReplicaID |
String |
| DesignTemplateName |
String |
| CurrentAccessLevel |
Integer |
| IsFTIndexed |
Boolean (True, False) |
| LastFTIndexed |
Variant of Type DATE |
| Created |
Variant of Type DATE |
| LastModified |
Variant of Type DATE |
| Forms |
Array of Notes Forms |
| Views |
Array of Notes |
| Agents |
Array of Notes Agents |
Taking an X-ray of your database
The Database Information Form shown in Figure A captures all of the information gathered by the Create Database Info Forms Agent and presents it in an easy to read format. You can easily see important information such as the file path, the date the database was created, the date it was last modified and information about all of the forms, views and agents in the database.
FIGURE A
 
The Database Information Form captures and formats all of the information about a database. Roll over picture for a larger image.
When creating an agent that populates a form, keep in mind that a form can help present information easily. You don't need to rely on LotusScript to do everything. Here are two examples of how I used the power of forms to format information to my benefit:
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