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HCL Domino Designer Basic User Guide and Reference
This guide provides information on using HCL Domino Designer 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 operators
Operators assign values, modify values, and combine existing values into new values. The following sections describe:
Unary operators
The unary operators (+ and -) specify the sign of a numeric value. An unsigned numeric value is positive. The following numeric values are equivalent:

HCL Domino Designer Basic User Guide and Reference
This guide provides information on using HCL Domino Designer and programming language reference information.
- What's new in HCL Domino Designer 12?
  The following features are new for developers in HCL Domino® Designer 12.
- 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 on a Domino server that provides a terse, shorthand syntax for finding documents. It supports a wide variety and complexity of search terms. It leverages existing design elements, avoiding the need to write detailed code to access them. DQL consolidates all methods in Domino for searching document contents.
- 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:
    - 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:
      - Operators and precedence
        The following table lists the operators and their precedence, where 1 is the highest precedence.
      - Order of evaluation for operations
        The values involved in an operation must be of the same data type. Operations occur in the following order:
      - Assignment operator
        The assignment operator (:=) assigns a value on the righthand side to a variable on the lefthand side. The variable assumes the type of the value on the righthand side.
      - List subscript operator
        The list subscript operator ([]) returns one element of a list.
      - List concatenation operator
        The list concatenation operator (:) concatenates values into a list. The values must all be of the same type. This example is a three-member text list.
      - Unary operators
        The unary operators (+ and -) specify the sign of a numeric value. An unsigned numeric value is positive. The following numeric values are equivalent:
      - Arithmetic operators
        The arithmetic operators (* / + -) combine two numeric values using multiplication, division, addition, and subtraction. The following operations all result in the numeric value 16:
      - Text operator
        The text concatenation operator (+) combines two text values. The following operation results in the value of the variable CompanyName followed by a comma, a space, and Inc.
      - Comparison operators
        The comparison operators (=, <>, !=, ><, <, >, <=, and >=) compare values of the same type and produce a logical result (True or False). The following operations all result in a logical value of True:
      - Examples using logical operators
        The logical operators (!, &, and |) combine logical values. The following operations all result in a value of True. The operations are shown twice, with and without parentheses. The parentheses clarify the order of evaluation but are unnecessary because the logical operations are less in precedence than the surrounding comparison operations.
      - Operations on lists
        Operations on lists are of two types:
    - 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.
- Connectors
  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.

Unary operators

The unary operators (+ and -) specify the sign of a numeric value. An unsigned numeric value is positive. The following numeric values are equivalent:

5
+5
-(-5)