If you really want to expand your development horizons beyond the Notes and Domino space, you're in luck. The people at TLCC have put together a course called "Introduction to WebSphere 4.0 for Domino Developers," which, in their words, will help take the fear out of WebSphere. I think that's a brilliant way to describe it, because to a lot of Domino Developers, WebSphere is WebFear, the fear of having a whole new development/server environment, indeed a whole new J2EE paradigm, to learn and master. And that is by no means a small feat.

What is special about this course is that it's designed with Domino developers in mind. It takes advantage of your existing knowledge to explain WebSphere to you in such a way that you will not only learn it better, but will also remember it longer. If you find it hard to eloquently explain the differences between Domino and WebSphere today, you'll have no problem doing it after taking this class. This targeting of the material towards Domino developers makes all the difference and is what separates this course from other available courses out there (be they in-person or computer-based). It's like walking through the WebSphere wilderness with an experienced guide in front of you who knows the path and speaks your language.

One of the most exciting things that will happen to you is that your horizons will open. You'll see possibilities that you didn't imagine before. The course won't necessarily teach you everything you need to know to become a WebSphere developer, but it will give you a rock-solid foundation in the technology so that you can begin working as a WebSphere or Domino/WebSphere developer if you so choose. To put it succinctly, it will both inspire and empower you.

What you'll learn from the class
For a list of what you'll learn from the class, I'm going to include some bullet points from TLCC's course description below.

• Use WebSphere Studio Application Developer (WSAD) to develop, test, and debug Java applications;

• Understand the J2EE multi-tier application model and use the Model-View-Controller design pattern;