Because the number is sent last, I used something easy to find for when I wrote my Palm device program later. Run the program and when "?" appears, Notes will be waiting for one of the connection strings. If you enter 66 [enter] (a top-right to bottom-left slash on a Palm device) then the "?" will disappear, "CONNECT" will appear briefly and then you should see something like Figure B.

FIGURE B

Test output from Notes on the Pilot VT100 program.

Getting USER.ID from the Palm device
Now that I was certain I could establish a link with Notes I moved on to the problem of retrieving my USER.ID. The LotusScript side is listed in the example database and expands upon the simpler agent but I couldn't find what I wanted on the Internet for the Palm device side. Some programming was going to be needed and after looking around at the possibilities I decided to use "Waba", a Java subset. Even though Waba is still in beta, I found it to be the best answer for the following reasons:

• It's free, it's simple, and there are plenty of examples;

• The Waba SDK allows you to develop your application in conjunction with pretty much any Java development Kit (I used JDK 1.1.5);

• The resulting programs work anywhere there is a Waba Virtual Machine, which includes Palm devices and Windows CE machines (plus of course the desktop);

• It's a subset of Java so I could build on existing Java knowledge rather than having to learn another language just for the Palm device. That in itself is a plus since Notes itself is increasingly Java-friendly;

• I could compile my ID into the program itself as a resource record rather than have to use a separate database; which gave me a small measure of security.

The Waba development details of the NotesId program on the Palm device are the subject of a separate article I intend to eventually write. Basically though, the NotesId program with the USER.ID compiled into it is loaded on the Palm device in the usual way with the Install tool. To recover the USER.ID, the Notes LotusScript agent and the Palm device program are run at the same time and the following "conversation" takes place between them along the serial link:

• Palm device: Finds the "USER.ID" record in its resources and gets the size;

• Palm device: Opens the serial port at 19,200 BPS and starts waiting for the trailing "?" from Notes;

• Notes: Starts the agent and asks if Palm device is on and waiting;

• Notes: Runs Netlink function call, sending the preamble and "?" as the phone number;

• Palm device: Finds the "?" and answers back with CONNECT or 66;

• Palm device: Waits for ANSWER handshake back from Notes; link is now established;