Joachim Werner wrote:
And, instead of switching back-ends in ZPatterns, I could as well just rewrite my non-ZPattern objects to work with the new back-end, which doesn't seem to be more work.
Well, do your first project both ways. It would make an interesting comparative study. I think you're getting distracted by the flexible storage options of ZPatterns, and missing the main benefit to your application. In your original message, you said:
There should be very flexible views on the data, e.g. a message or document can either be viewed on the owner's personal workspace or on the project portal the document was posted to.
"Flexible views on the data" is where ZPatterns really makes things easier. Of course there are other ways to achieve the same ends. However, I believe that using ZPatterns makes it easier to evolve your system in the face of changing requirements. -- Steve Alexander Software Engineer Cat-Box limited http://www.cat-box.net