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IBM Domino Designer Basic User Guide and Reference
Basic product usage information and programming language reference information.
Formula Language
This section documents the formula language.
Formula Language Rules
Formula language provides syntax and @functions for evaluating constants and variables, and for performing simple logic. Variables can be fields in Notes® documents or temporary variables (also called temporary fields) used only for the immediate formula.
Using the syntax rules
You understand formula language through its:
Lexical elements
A formula consists of one or more statements, each consisting of any of the following:

IBM Domino Designer Basic User Guide and Reference
Basic product usage information and programming language reference information.
- Accessibility and keyboard shortcuts
  Accessibility features assist users who have a disability, such as restricted mobility or limited vision, to use information technology content successfully.
- Application Design
  Welcome to the Application Design section of Domino® Designer Help.
- Application Management
  Welcome to the Application Management section of Domino® Designer Help.
- Domino® Query Language
  Domino Query Language (DQL) is a facility running in Domino core allowing for a terse shorthand syntax for finding documents according to a wide variety of complexity of terms. It leverages existing design elements without the need to write detailed code to access them.
- Composite Applications - Design and Management
  Composite applications are a key element in a service-oriented architecture (SOA) and contextual collaboration strategy. The ability to create and edit composite applications lets you easily integrate different types of components and technologies.
- DB2® Access views
  Domino® Designer includes two types of design elements to assist you in managing data contained in DB2® enabled Notes® databases:
- Programming Overview and User Interface
  This section contains general guidelines and examples that show where to use Java, LotusScript, and the formula language.
- Formula Language
  This section documents the formula language.
  - Formula Language Rules
    Formula language provides syntax and @functions for evaluating constants and variables, and for performing simple logic. Variables can be fields in Notes® documents or temporary variables (also called temporary fields) used only for the immediate formula.
    - Using the syntax rules
      You understand formula language through its:
      - Lexical elements
        A formula consists of one or more statements, each consisting of any of the following:
        Examples: Lexical elements
      - General syntax rules
        A formula must follow these general syntax rules.
    - Using variables
      Variables are of two types:
    - Using constants
      Formulas use three types of constants:
    - Using operators
      Operators assign values, modify values, and combine existing values into new values. The following sections describe:
    - Using @functions
      Notes® @functions are built-in formulas that perform specialized calculations and return a value. The following sections describe:
    - Using reserved words
      Formula language includes a set of reserved words that perform special functions:
    - Specifying form and view names in formulas
      When you specify a form or view name in a formula:
    - Debugging formulas
      The formula language does not provide a formal debugging mechanism. You can use @Prompt to stop at certain points and to examine variables. This example uses @Prompt to set a checkpoint and then to examine a variable. After you establish that your code is running correctly, remove the debug statements.
  - Formula Language Coding Guidelines
  - Formula Language @Functions A-Z
    Formula Language @Functions A-Z
  - Formula Language @Commands A-Z
- LotusScript® Language
  Welcome to the LotusScript® Language section of Domino® Designer Help.
- LotusScript/COM/OLE Classes
- Java/CORBA Classes
  This section documents the Java/CORBA classes.
- Lotus® Connectors
  Lotus® Connectors provide native access to a wide variety of DBMS products, ODBC, the platform File system, Enterprise Resource Planning systems, and Transaction Processing systems.
- Javadoc™ for Domino® Designer related APIs
  As part of providing additional Java™ reference documentation, Domino® Designer ships with a help plugin that contains Javadoc™ for additional Domino Designer related APIs.

Lexical elements

A formula consists of one or more statements, each consisting of any of the following:

A value is a variable, a constant, the result of an @function, or the result of an expression formed by combining any of the foregoing elements with operators.