Just got a notice from my Books 24x7 online service for this new Notes book. I see it's on version 7. I guess better late than never.


Table of Contents
Domino 7 Application Development—Writing and Upgrading Applications for the Latest Lotus Notes / Domino Platform
Foreward
Preface
Chapter 1 - A Short History of Notes and Domino
Chapter 2 - New Notes 7 Client and Domino 7 Server Features
Chapter 3 - Lotus Notes/Domino 7 and DB2
Chapter 4 - New Lotus Domino Designer 7 Features
Chapter 5 - Upgrading Domino Applications
Chapter 6 - Upgrading Formulas
Chapter 7 - Upgrading Agents and LotusScript
Chapter 8 - Web Services and Domino 7
Chapter 9 - Optimizing Application Performance
Chapter 10 - Code Samples
Overview
The Save & Close Action Bar Button
Preventing Editing of Fields and Documents Dynamically
Fast DbLookups
InViewEditing
Summary

Chapter 11 - Troubleshooting Applications
Overview
Testing Your Application
Asking the Right Questions
Logging
Domino Domain Monitoring (DDM)
Agent Profiler
Summary

Appendix A - Vendor Tools
Index

Funny start to my Eclipse training. My mentor installed Eclipse for me a couple weeks ago and I had not launched it since. So I sit down to do the tutorial and I can't find Eclipse in my programs or a short cut on my desktop. There's no folder called Eclipse. First thought was that Desktop support erased from my pc. I did see an obscure folder that I thought might be it. When my mentor came in the office, he assured me of the folder and it was not Eclipse.exe. He installed a version that includes a bunch of other stuff we use and it's another obscure file with a .cmd extension. Off I go into the abyss.
He did give me a quick show and tell. My first impression is that I'm so glad to give up NotePad. I don't care if I get called a 'wuss' for cheating with an IDE. I can struggle with syntax and other code confusion just fine without the pain of hacking around with NotePad and command prompts. An IDE like Eclipse gives me hope.
I love these points made by the tutorial author, Mark Dexter, from the companion .pdf document.

- Eclipse provides a number of aids that make writing Java code much quicker and easier than
using a text editor. This means that you can spend more time learning Java, and less time
typing and looking up documentation.
- The Eclipse debugger and scrapbook allow you to look inside the execution of the Java code.
This allows you to “see” objects and to understand how Java is working behind the scenes
- Eclipse provides full support for agile software development practices such as test-driven
development and refactoring. This allows you to learn these practices as you learn Java.
- If you plan to do software development in Java, you’ll need to learn Eclipse or some other IDE.
So learning Eclipse from the start will save you time and effort.

Couple thoughts:
- I like the length of each lesson. Each lesson is less than 15 minutes. It's giving me a sense of accomplishment.
- I like the speed he's going in and he's very clear. Of course you can stop the playback of these Flash demo's.
- I set up the dual monitor settings in Windows Control Panel/Display. One for my laptop and one for my monitor. I have the video playing on one and Eclipse in the other. I'm able to type allong with the instructor.
- In my IT training life, I've had lousy instructors and great ones. I learn next to nothing and get frustrated with one and get totally stoked with the other. So far, I like this instructor. A good instructor makes all the difference to me. I mean, it's the difference between failure and success, bottom line.
- You build a full application/project that seems cool. It's a book reservation system.
- I'm using 3.3 version of Eclipse and the tutorial is for 3.3. When he went File/New/Project, my dialog's were slightly different. Not panic time yet at all but just thought it was interesting. Mine is File/New/Java Project.
- It's cool having a virtual instructor so I can hear his perspective on things as he navigates the IDE or code.
- You learn little time savers that I most likely would not catch on my own. For instance, Ctrl+space is code complete assistance.

Really enjoying this so far and I'm getting it so far.

Seems I've added Java and Eclipse to my development plan. I finally have an opportunity at work to learn from some mentors and get into some projects for real. I'm building a development plan and would sure appreciate any advice, links to tutorials, books and etc... I'm not a total newbie in that I have read the Java Head First book and taken a community college course but it was a few years ago. I plan on getting the Head First OO book too. I found a tutorial today I'm going to start. Title is Eclipse and Java for Total Beginners.
Off I go into the bold new world. Wish me luck!