Lotus Rock Star :: I told you it'd be easy...Sametime bot for Content Awareness

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In the four years since I worked on this with Bob Balaban for the first time, then gave it away at Lotusphere 2006 where I proclaimed it'd be easy to modify, I decided to go in and see if the Content Awareness bot lived up to my promise. But first I needed a business case. Ha! How about having a subtle, visual indication that someone has just registered for Collaboration University? Brilliant!

So I timed myself. Copied the Setup form and view from the sample database to the Collaboration University registration database. Then, I opened the source in RAD 6.0 -- could've used Eclipse, but I knew I already had a project there -- and made an adjustment to the bit that decides which fields to report, since the registration database's forms were different from the sample database. Saved it, modified the batch file to look at the registration database's server for content, and ran it.

Oops, I need a user. Created on on the LDAP server named "CU Registration" and gave it an HTTP password and a Sametime server name. OK, now run it. Works like a charm. 7 minutes.

Now by this point, unless you happen to have a photographic memory AND were in my Lotusphere session with Viktor (The Great Code Giveaway), you are probably wondering what the hell I'm talking about. Well close your eyes and imagine this...OK open them back up, it needs visuals.

Someone comes and registers for the conference on the Collaboration University website. Let's say there are no other registrants with a "New" status at the time. Within one minute, a Sametime bot that is running on my machine (could be anywhere) has a look at the database and because the setup document points it to "New" status registrations, the bot has some data. Because it has some data, it decides to log into Sametime as "CU Registration". "CU Registration" is defined as a user on another server in LDAP. Because "CU Registration" is in my buddy list, boom - goes green. Subtle, visual indication that we have a new registrant that needs processing:

It gets better.

If I click to initiate a chat with my buddy, he responds immediately with the name and country of the registrant. If there's more than one, it's a numbered list and I can choose from it to see more information.

And for the finishing touch...since in addition to Sametime 7.5 beta 4 and Notes 7 integration, I am using the Trillian Sametime plugin, I set up a notification sound that plays when my buddy comes online.

Review of the ingredients:

Sametime bot -- a teeny tiny Java program running on my computer
Sametime server 7.5 beta 4
Domino server running the secure Collaboration University registration application, Domino of course
Domino server running LDAP with four directories
Trillian, Notes, or Sametime client
Special sauce
The chat transcript, if there is one, goes full circle. I get a transcript mailed to me by SnappShot, no matter who queries the bot.

So for those who had a hard time turning the esoteric or academic into business value, there it is! 7 minutes.

Comments

1 - Very cool! And all this in 7 minutes?

One thing I'm curious about - why the Trillian alert and not a Sametime 7.5 alert (which can be persistent and have a custom audio notification, too)? Just curious what's different in Trillian?

Posted by Adam Gartenberg At 06:44:02 PM On 08/10/2006 | - Website - |

2 - @Adam: Yes - 7 minutes, starting from what I had in the sample.

I can easily set up the notification in Sametime Connect 7.5, true. And for this application, since I'm not hooked to AIM with ST Connect yet, it would have the same effect. What Trillian gives me, however, is the ability to set a custom alert sound per buddy, not just globally. So, my bots (and my wife, who would not be happy if she knew Darth Vader's theme plays when she comes online) can have different sounds. I guess that makes it a feature request...

Rob