Access to content of Lotus Notes database without Lotus Notes software installed

Question

I am looking for a programatic way to access content in a Lotus Notes database (.nsf file) without having Lotus Notes software installed.

Python would be preferred but I'm also willing to look at other languages e.g. C/C++ or other means e.g. SQL

From what I have read, all of the methods e.g. Python COM access, pyodbc rely on having Lotus Notes server software installed.

The problem I am trying to solve is to read the content and look for references (URL's back to a web site that is undergoing maintenance and the addresses in the web site will change) As a start, I want to get a list of references and hope to be able to replace them with the new references to the modified web site.

Any ideas on how best to do this welcome :)

Answer 1

The short answer is, unfortunately you will need the Notes client installed. There are a few ways to access data from an NSF such as NotesSQL, COM, C/C++, but all rely on the Lotus C API at the core, and you'll need a notes client and a notes ID file to gain access via that API.

Answer 2

If this is a one-time need, you may be able to find sites that will do some simple Domino/Notes hosting for free. If you could put the NSF up to a service like that, you could then use Domino URL's (REST) to extract the data and search for links, etc.

Answer 3

Like Ken says, inevitably there has to be a server in the mix. If you're searching for specific text in a Notes / Domino application, and looking to replace it, there's a tool out there which does this: Teamstudio Configurator.

Configurator also has an API (written in Lotusscript, which is very like old-skool VB) so you can code a solution pretty quickly. I've done the exact same thing you're doing with an old Domino-based website, using this API.

Not the answer you're looking for I guess, but always good to have choices!