Notes figures it all out and makes sure all the copies stay synchronized. It does this through a process called replication, where all the changes are batched up and synchronized at a later, more convenient time. This functionality existed way back in 1990, before most people even realized they needed such a thing.

Client-server application
Next, Notes is a client-server application. That means it has a client piece that runs on the laptop or desktop computer, and it has a server piece that runs on a networked server computer, such as Windows NT or Unix. An example topology is shown in Figure A.

FIGURE A

Notes and Domino can connect over a wide variety of networks or by direct dial-up. Click picture for a larger image.

This is where the terms Notes and Domino diverge. The client is called Notes. The server is called Domino. Lotus made the name change a few years ago. You'll still hear Notes old-timers refer to the whole system as Notes. Old habits die hard. For brevity, I'll refer to the Notes and Domino combination just as Notes. I'll let you know when I'm talking about the client or server specifically.

The Domino server software brokers all requests to the databases stored on the server computer. This is a very secure arrangement. Notes clients don't actually read and write the server databases directly. Domino is similar to Oracle and Sybase in this respect. Contrast that with a product like Microsoft Access. Access uses something called a shared-file model. The desktop or laptop computers read and write the database files directly, which is much less secure.

Open standards
Notes is also committed to open standards. That means it will work with just about anything. In fact, it's one of the reasons why the client and server pieces have different names. You can use the Notes client without the Domino server. It works fine as a standard Internet mail client and Web browser.

Likewise, Domino can stand alone as a Web server. It supports all the standard Web technologies like HTML, CGI, Java, JavaScript, and even XML. With a Lotus add-on product called LEI, Domino can even communicate and share data with Oracle, Sybase, DB2, and other database platforms.

And finally, Lotus announced a new product offering in April. Codenamed Bluejay, the new product will offer tighter integration with Microsoft products and standards. This flexibility to mix and match pieces is a big plus. Another advantage is platform independence. The Domino server can run on Windows 2000, Windows NT, IBM AS/400, IBM S/390 mainframes, and several flavors of Unix, including Linux. The Notes client is available for Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT, and Macintosh.

Not your father's email
Although Notes is not synonymous with email, it does come with email built in. Email in Notes is simply a database application, just like the thousands of other applications built for the platform by Lotus, its business partners, and by Lotus customers themselves. See the chart in Figure B for some other database applications.