Learning XPages … D8L55 is done … Puh

OK, I made it through the IBM XPages course D8L55. Not without a few hiccups, but they are minor.
First I had problems getting the db’s on the server. The darn thing – a Foundations Box with 8.5.1 FP4 – just refused to let me put copies or replicas of the databases in notesdata. The silly box always had the impression I had no right to do it. I used local replicas, which worked pretty well (I tried to create replicas today again and … sure, it worked – Argh).

The next issue. I should have used an English client. Sometimes it was pretty hard to find the German labels and the German help confused me more, than it helped.

The radio button exercise was the major hiccup. There must have been a huge change between 8.5 to 8.5.2. In the course I had to put for every choice a separate radio button, but there are only radio button groups as controls. As instructed I tried it with 3 different radio button groups, which all had the same name. That couldn’t work.

The last trouble shooting exercise should have shown a minor problem with a view header, instead it showed a complete runtime error for the whole page. But the fix was the same. I just did not learn anything from it.

All in all, it is a good course. You see quite a lot of important things and many concepts I struggled with before, are much clearer now. I can only recommend it. IBM really tried to get a course together, that gets you started. I am not an expert now, but at least I can continue on my own. Oh, and get an iPad or something for reading the stuff, that made my life a lot easier. I could even read about XPages in bed. Boy, it took only seconds till was fast asleep.

Now where I go from here. First to the fridge….

(got it from my local Coop. Amazing, that they have a sense of humor)

I think I am going to watch a few videos from David on xpages.tv … have to get chips.

Oh, Sonia thanks again for the course. If you are ever in the region, drop me something lite, like a note. I owe you at least a few beers or glasses of wine.
If somebody is also in the same position as me, no courses in your country, start whining. You will not get my course. I promised. I am a good boy.

PS: Is there already a Vulcan and a iPad CSS available?