XPages: Is there a way to copy/rename custom controls

Question

In Lotuscript you can manipulate design elements - create them, change them, rename them, etc.

Are you able to do the same thing for Xpages and custom controls design elements?

==================================================================== My question should have been clearer. What I want to accomplish is to copy an existing cc and give it a new name, programatically. The app will then close and reopen (or refresh or get rebuilt) so that the app can "see" the new cc. If I copy the cc it will only have one field on it. I will add custom code later. I could just create a new cc with no code in it, that would work too.

I am not familiar with the DXL exporter but I can research it. Using that can I just export the design of the cc to an XML file in a temp directory, use the transform to change the name, and then import the control?

Answer 1

I think the XPage or Custom Control design elements are probably under MISC_CODE or MISC_FORMAT design elements in a NoteCollection.

However, accessing that design element is the easy part. Doing a create / rename / change etc is a much bigger task.

Remember that the XPage or Custom Control XML file is only a starting point:

1. XPages and Custom Controls also have a .xsp.metadata file, as you'll see with source control.
2. Custom Controls will also have (and need) a .xsp-config file.
3. There are corresponding .java files for every XPage and Custom Control in the Local source folder. They're created by a builder based on parsing the XML. I don't think you'll be able to create those programmatically. I'm not sure of the impact of renaming them.
4. For Custom Controls, even if you can rename the .java file, it's referenced in the .java files of relevant XPages. Updating those is goiong to be a significant task.
5. The XPages runtime doesn't even use those .java files. Instead it uses the .class files in WebContent\WEB-INF (you need to use Project Explorer view and modify the filter to see those files). This is compiled byte code, so you won't be able to update the .class files for XPages containing renamed Custom Controls, as far as I know.
6. Even if you can rename the .class files, the XPages runtime almost certainly won't use them until either a Clean (which will overwrite anything you've done) or an HTTP restart. As far as I can tell they're cached.

Depending on your use cases, it's possible not all these points will be an issue, e.g. if you're modifying the XML files and building with headless designer.

I suspect this is why nothing was added to the NoteCollection object or a specific NotesXPage / NotesCustomControl API class added.

Answer 2

In Lotuscript you can manipulate design elements - create them, change them, rename them, etc.

This is only partially true. There is a LS API to create/alter views and outlines. Good luck with other design elements - although they're standard "notes", so you can access their items, in most cases you won't compile them and there will be some problems with signatures (real experience with TeamStudio CIAO).

Your question has two points of view - do you want to alter design elements in design process or alter running application?

To help a designer you can go the way of Eclipse extensions and enrich tools in IBM Designer to help developer. Something like TeamStudio Designer. In this case you need to look for source design elements, mentioned by Paul.

To enrich application you don't need to alter source design elements. IBM Designer transforms XML in source code to a Java code (JSF framework) - so you can generate your Java code from anything you wish. Take a look inside Local\xsp folder of NSF in Package explorer. You will find Java sources made from your XPages and Custom Controls. So if you don't need to work with design elements, go for Java components - they can be built on the fly.

And of course, there is always the option of DXL framework - so you can clone/alter design of the application through XML transformations. Good starting point: http://www-10.lotus.com/ldd/ddwiki.nsf/dx/ls-design-programming.htm