IBM Lotus Expeditor

Infobox_Software
name = IBM Lotus Expeditor



caption =
collapsible = yes
developer = IBM
status = Active
latest_release_version =
latest_release_date =
latest_preview_version =
latest_preview_date =
operating_system = Cross-platform
size =
programming_language = Java
genre = OSGi Service Platform
license =
website = http://www.ibm.com/software/lotus/products/expeditor/

IBM Lotus Expeditor is a software framework by IBM's Lotus Software division for the construction, integration, and deployment of "managed client applications", which are client applications that are deployed from, configured, and managed onto a desktop, usually by a remote server. The goal is to allow developers to create applications that take advantage of running on a local client, while having the same ease of maintenance as web-based applications.

Description

There are several parts to Expeditor:
* "Lotus Expeditor Client for Desktop" is used for the running client applications on Microsoft Windows and Linux. These applications can be written using a combination of OSGi, Java EE, and Eclipse Rich Client Platform (RCP) technologies, running on a Java virtual machine.
* "Lotus Expeditor Client for Devices" is a configuration of platform for Microsoft Windows Mobile devices and the Nokia E90 Communicator. This configuration of the platform includes the Eclipse embedded Rich Client Platform (eRCP) running on a Java ME virtual machine.
* "Lotus Expeditor Server" is used to deploy, configure and maintain applications running on Lotus Expeditor Clients. It runs on top of the IBM DB2 database management system and the Java EE-based IBM WebSphere Application Server. Expeditor Server is not necessary for Expeditor Client applications to run. Client applications can run standalone, and optionally exploit the services of the Lotus Expeditor Server for data synchronization, transactional messaging and automated, remote, application management.

In addition, Lotus Expeditor Toolkit is for developers to create Expeditor applications and create customized Expeditor runtimes. It runs on top of the Eclipse integrated development environment.

Lotus Software uses Expeditor in many of its own products, including Notes (from version 8), Sametime (from version 7.5), and Symphony.

History

Lotus Expeditor has its roots in IBM's Pervasive Computing (PvC) initiatives. which were associated with the pursuit of ubiquitous computing. Early forms of Lotus Expeditor were first outlined publicly in 2001 in an article on IBM's Pervasive Computing Device Architecture. [Jim Colson, [http://www.microjava.com/articles/techtalk/pvc?content_id=1209 The Pervasive Computing Device Architecture] , MicroDevNet, April 3, 2001. Accessed 2007-11-06] This architecture served as the basis for IBM PvC embedded software deliveries in many areas, including automotive telematics, industrial control, residential gateways, desktop screenphones, and handheld mobile devices.

In 2003, the core of the PvC Device Architecture, the OSGi Service Platform, was used in a refactoring of the Eclipse runtime to incubate what became Eclipse 3.0. This incubator project was referred to as Equinox. Eclipse 3.0 was released in 2004 as a refactored runtime (Rich Client Platform or RCP) and an integrated development environment (IDE) that exploited RCP.

Later in 2004, IBM announced Workplace Client Technology (WCT) as an umbrella concept for creating managed client applications targeted at desktops. WCT was an application of the PvC Device Architecture to desktops, which then included the RCP technologies. WCT also came with document editors that could read word processing documents, spreadsheets, and presentations in OpenDocument format. [Harish Grama, Keith Attenborough, John Banks-Binici, Jim Marsden, Carl Kraenzel, Jeff Calow, Shankar Ramaswamy, Yu Xin Kou, Mary Ellen Zurko, and Heidi Votaw, [http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/abstracts/redp3884.html IBM Workplace Client Technology (Rich Client Edition) Technology Overview] , IBM Redpaper, 2004. Accessed 2007-09-26.] [Philip Monson, Timothy K. Choo, and Christopher J. O'Neill, [http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/abstracts/redp3947.html IBM Workplace Client Technology Productivity Tools for IBM Lotus Workplace Documents 2.0.1] , IBM Redpaper, 2004. Accessed 2007-09-26.]

Later that year, IBM rebranded the PvC Device Architecture as a platform called Workplace Client Technology, Micro Edition (WCTME). [ [http://www.ibm.com/software/wireless/wme/wctme.html Announcing IBM Workplace Client Technology, Micro Edition] , IBM, 2004. Accessed 2007-09-26.] [David Reich, [ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/software/pervasive/info/products/wctme/WCTME-Technology-Roadmap.pdf WCTME Technology Roadmap] , IBM, 2004. Accessed 2007-09-26.] IBM took the existing Workplace Client Technology and renamed it Workplace Client Technology, Rich Client Edition (later Rich Edition or WCTRE).

IBM created a configuration of the WCTME platform, called Workplace Client Technology, Micro Edition—Enterprise Offering (WCTME-EO), as the first generally available product to support the construction and deployment of desktop applications for Workplace. WCT Micro Edition—Enterprise Offering had a smaller footprint than WCT Rich Edition by focusing only on the integration of line-of-business applications and, correspondingly, not including the document editors. [ [http://www.lotus.com/ldd/doc/uafiles.nsf/docs/wcs26api/$File/Application_Developers_Guide.pdf Workplace Client Technology Micro Edition Enterprise Offering Application Developer's Guide] , IBM, 2004. Accessed 2007-09-26.]

The names of the technologies continued to evolve in the next couple of years.
* WCT Rich Edition became known as the Workplace Managed Client. [Hangsu Ma, [http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/lotus/library/wmc-manage/ Managing IBM Workplace Managed Client applications] , IBM developerWorks, 2005. Accessed 2007-09-26.]
* WCT Micro Edition—Enterprise Offering was briefly renamed Workplace Managed Client for WebSphere before it was released as WebSphere Everyplace Deployment for Windows and Linux. [Philip Monson, Lori Ott, Nishant H. Shah, and Shane O'Sullivan, [http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/redpapers/pdfs/redp4119.pdf IBM Workplace Managed Client: ISV Integration Guide] , IBM Redpaper, 2006, p. 195. Accessed 2007-09-26.] ("WebSphere Everyplace Deployment" referred to both client and server technologies.)

In 2006, IBM started to de-emphasize the Workplace brand in favor of its existing Lotus and WebSphere brands. [David DeJean, [http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2007/01/good_riddance_t.html Good Riddance To IBM Workplace] , InformationWeek, January 22, 2007. Accessed 2007-09-26.] As part of this effort, it created the Expeditor brand within Lotus: [ [ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/software/lotus/lotusweb/product/expeditor/datasheet.pdf Lotus Expeditor 6.1 Data Sheet] , IBM, 2007. Accessed 2007-09-26.]
* WebSphere Everyplace Deployment became Lotus Expeditor.
* In particular, WebSphere Everyplace Deployment for Windows and Linux became Lotus Expeditor Client for Desktop.
* Workplace Client Technology, Micro Edition became Lotus Expeditor Client for Devices.
* The server components from WebSphere Everyplace Deployment products that dealt with managing desktop and mobile applications became Lotus Expeditor Server.
* Some of the technology in Workplace Managed Client, such as its document editors, were incorporated into Lotus Notes 8 and Lotus Symphony.

References

See also

*IBM Service Management Framework

External links

* [http://www.ibm.com/software/lotus/products/expeditor/ IBM Lotus Expeditor product page]
* [http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/lotus/products/expeditor/ IBM Lotus Expeditor] on IBM developerWorks
* Keith Carter, [http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/lotus/library/expeditor-intro/ Introducing IBM Lotus Expeditor V6.1.1] , IBM developerWorks. Accessed 2007-09-25.