I'm preparing to deploy the re-signed Java Applets and two sets of iNotes/DWA hotfix sets across more than 50 servers this weekend. And I'm reminded of an entry I wrote in March about "The List." This refers to the actual list of items I take with me to Lotusphere each year to discuss with the development teams. My staff tease and joke about "The List." "Is this one of those items on The List?"-- as they know I take this very seriously. And each year I usually walk away with some sense of satisfaction knowing that I had some "face time" with those that may be able to resolve a particular issue.
So....this leads up to the first item that will be on The List for Lotusphere 2010. That is the packaging of iNotes/DWA hotfixes and any type of Java applet fixes. Currently this type of hotfix is a manual copy and paste fix across all platforms. There is no executable provided by Lotus Support to replace the files as is the case with other types of hotfixes or incremental upgrades. This is a serious service issue. On a unix platform, each file must be copied with the correct ownership and file properties. No matter what size Domino domain you are managing, this is a time waster. Could I write an executable to do this for me? Sure. But considering that file names and file locations might change each time, this might equally be as time consuming to manage.
Lotus Support, please consider developing a packaging mechanism for these in the future. See you in the Developers' Lab next year!
