The decision to develop the new system using Notes was significantly motivated by a belief that Notes will be available, and will continue to be improved, for many years to come, and that people skilled in the maintenance and improvement of Notes applications will continue to be widespread. Lotus Notes databases consist of any number of documents . These documents, in turn, contain fields which can contain, essentially, any kind of electronic information. A scripting language, LotusScript , allows Notes developers to construct sophisticated mechanisms for processing the information contained in these databases. Document templates, or forms , determine how the information in a document is displayed, allowing information to be hidden for clarity or for security purposes, if required.
Views display hierarchical lists of documents to assist the user in traversing a database.
Using a Domino server, the content of Notes databases can be dynamically published to the Internet or to an Intranet. The letters database holds correspondence generated by the system. The reports database generates tables suitable for inclusion in the High Court's annual report. Storing sensitive information in a completely distinct database means that Notes's full text searching capability cannot be used to circumvent restrictions the system places upon access to information. This feature is in addition to Notes's built-in security mechanisms.