Read on for part two of my complete coverage of this database comparison tool for Notes and Domino developers, but if you haven't yet, you may want to read the first half, which you can find the May issue of DominoPower Magazine at http://www.dominopower.com/issues/issue200505/00001559001.html.

A few words on comparing code in Notes databases
One of the strengths of Notes is that developers have the capability to add code to practically every database design element. While relatively simple databases may rely only on simple actions and @functions, moderately complex databases will probably use a substantial amount of LotusScript code. Additionally, if the database has been Web enabled, JavaScript, and possibly Java, may also be involved. As a result, you can spend hours, if not days, trying to determine all the places where code may have been changed, especially if the database has more than a handful of design elements.

Unlike developing in an environment like Eclipse, IBM Rational Developer (formerly known as WebSphere Studio) or Microsoft Visual Studio, where code is stored in text files on a file system, all code used by a Notes database is contained within the database itself. In some instances, like LotusScript agents and script libraries, the code is encrypted (or signed) using the Notes ID of the person who last saved the design element. For Java agents and script libraries, the code is stored as an attachment within the design element. This means that in order to compare the code, you'll either need to export the code from the Notes database to a text file, or access it through one of the various Notes APIs.

You can export code manually using Domino Designer, or programmatically as DXL (Domino XML) by using the LotusScript or Java DXL objects. However you export the code, you'll still need to use another tool to perform the comparison. For example, if you export before and after versions of the code as text files, you can use a tool as simple as MS Word or as powerful as DLSuperC to compare the two files. As you can see, this process quickly becomes tedious if you have to compare several individual code streams.

Comparing the code as DXL may sound like a better alternative, but it's really not much better than comparing the code as text. The design element you export will be represented as an XML document, with the code being encapsulated within DXL elements and attributes, as shown in Figure A.

FIGURE A


DXL manually exported for a Notes form. Roll over picture for a larger image.