APPLICATION DESIGN
Data Connection Resources (DCRs) bring the technology of Domino Enterprise Connector Services (DECS) into IBM® Lotus® Domino(TM) Designer so that you can define a connection to an external data source, such as a relational database, and use the connection to link the fields in a form to fields in the external source. DCRs are reusable in an application and can be shared across applications. You can use DCR technology to access data in enterprise systems and then take advantage of the power of a Domino application to replicate, share, secure, and manage the data.
To create an external connection, you first need to install the DECS server software on your IBM® Lotus® Domino(TM) server. The client software for the application you are connecting to -- such as DB2 or ODBC -- must also be installed on the Domino server. You can develop an application locally, but you will be unable to browse the external metadata when designing your application.
Overview of creating a DCR
To establish a connection with an external resources, follow these steps, described in detail in the topics that follow.
1. Create a data source resource on the server that maps to the external database you plan to access.
2. Create the DCR by identifying the type of application you are connecting to and specifying the existing data source.
3. (Optional) Customize the DCR settings.
4. Set a database property that allows for connection to external data sources.
5. Create fields on a form that map to fields in the external data application using one or more DCRs.
6. Import external records to bring the existing data from an external database into a Notes application.
Example See Also