CAMBRIDGE, MASS. - An open source project designed to replace Java technology originally expected to be in the next version of Lotus' Domino collaboration software will not be completed in time - as some users hoped - to coincide with the shipment of Version 6 in two weeks.
However, Lotus later this month plans to release details on how Domino and parent company IBM's WebSphere Application Server will be combined to provide, without additional cost to Domino users, the Java technology that was yanked.
In January, Lotus caused a firestorm among customers when it pulled from the Domino 6 feature list a technology called Garnet that supported Java Server Pages (JSP) and let Domino function as a Java 2 Platform Enterprise Edition (J2EE) server.
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With JSP, developers have more control over content they use within their Web-based applications, such as better table formatting. J2EE is a popular platform for building distributed applications, and Domino users said they looked forward to using it in conjunction with Domino's database, replication and security features.
Lotus said it killed Garnet because it didn't fit into IBM's long-term product strategy and had standards incompatibility issues. But users said IBM moved Garnet aside as a ploy to push more customers toward WebSphere, its primary J2EE platform. Users objected to cost and training issues associated with such a move.
As a result, Domino users rallied around an open source project called Crimson that promised to bring back JSP support to Domino.
But because of a lack of personnel resources, efforts have slowed since January, when the OpenNTF.org group spearheading the Crimson development said it would deliver a clone of Lotus' Garnet. Three developers are working on technology that supports downloading and installing Crimson software, says Bruce Elgort, co-founder of the group.
"We wanted to get to a place where we had something that people could install," he says. "Mostly what we have now is an instructional manual that some people have used to build Crimson on their own."
So for now, the J2EE path for Domino users runs through WebSphere.
"You will hear something major about integrating Domino with WebSphere," says Ed Brill, senior manager for messaging and collaboration at Lotus. "We will provide a deployable JSP capability in the Domino platform that will come from a bundled version of WebSphere."
He said Lotus is not resurrecting Garnet but would provide a "functionally equivalent" technology. He would not say if the bundle would include the ability to edit and store JSP in Domino, or if there will be a deployment tool to load JSP from Domino to the WebSphere engine.
But Brill said the JSP support would come without additional cost to Lotus users.
Brill would not provide details on how the technology would be licensed, if users could edit and store JSP in Domino, or if there will be a deployment tool to load JSP from Domino to the WebSphere engine.
IBM is taking its first major step in integrating WebSphere and Domino into what the company is calling its next-generation platform, in which Domino takes on a supporting role as collaboration component provider for applications built on WebSphere. It is a step on which IBM cannot afford to stumble.
"IBM is under heavy scrutiny, and if it makes the wrong decision you can expect another cry from the developer community," says Matt Cain, an analyst with Meta Group.
"A lot of people would be happy if you could just store native JSP in Domino," says James Greene, president of JaGre, a Lotus development tools vendor. "That would allow you to replicate JSPs, use Lotus Notes security and store your entire project design in one place."
Greene has developed Jasper, an add-on to the Notes application development tool that lets users save JSPs in a Notes database. The technology complements Crimson.
Lotus officials say Garnet won't be the only thing missing from Domino 6. The company pulled the roaming-user and single-copy template features because they are unstable. They will be released as part of a maintenance upgrade early next year.
Also, Lotus will offer a new version of Domino called Utility Server that lets users access applications through a Web browser without having to pay a client access license. The server cannot be used to deploy e-mail. n
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