The Java subsystem was necessary to keep Domino relevant as an application development platform. IBM couldn't continue to rely on the proprietary LotusScript la

The Java subsystem was necessary to keep Domino relevant as an application development platform. IBM couldn't continue to rely on the proprietary LotusScript language forever (it was similar to Visual Basic, but mostly worse). The additional of web server features was well intentioned but never worked correctly. IBM had this fantasy that developers could build an application once, then deploy it automatically to both Lotus Notes native thick clients and web browsers. Of course, this completely fell apart for anything but the most trivial applications. It also created a lot of market confusion because it competed with IBM's own WebSphere Application Server product.