The future of Domino web development

I've been quite busy on other domains lately, so it was very calm here. I start my new boost of blog productivity with an image I've been nourishing for quite some time. It's all about the future of Domino. When thinking of Domino web development, I see three paths you can follow:

The yellow path

This path follows the evolution of web enhancements of Lotus Notes/Domino very closely. I have chosen yellow, because that used to be the colour of the cover of the user manuals of the first Lotus Notes product boxes. Web development can be done according to what is described in these manuals and in the Designer help. Applications made in this way stay very close to the out-of-the-box HTML rendering of Notes design elements. Each new release of the product offers new features you can use.

The red path

I've heared that IBM is going to close the RedBook series for Lotus Notes/Domino. What a shame. In these RedBooks, and at events as The View Conferences, people show and explain exciting new possibilities they developed, based on the newest features of the latest Notes/Domino release. This path leads often to cutting edge applications. I guess nowadays, these people are all over things like Ajax and Web 2.0.

The orange path

I think there is yet another path. This is the path you find on blogs and open source applications. It is not yellow, it is not red... It is what Notes/Domino developers discover by sharing information, combining experiences, choosing directions. Orange is the future red. I have chosen my colour. Orange is the colour of imagination and creativity. Orange is building applications online and asking each-other advise. I found a great example of this: idea exchange. It's "a place where people can post and share their ideas on how to improve products from Lotus software." Check it out.

What is your orange?

My path is clear. My path is orange. What that means to me, I'll explain in my next blog.