"Jordan B. Baker" wrote:
Since there are Versions,
The "Versions" in Zope are working versions of Zope databases. (They used to be called "sessions" but we changed the name becaise the term "session" has a different meaning in web applications.) They allow changes to be made to a Zope system and seen by those working on the system without affecting other users (as long as other users aren't trying to modify the same objects being modified in the version).
does that mean we'll be able to keep multiple version of an object around?
Yes, but not the way you think. Independent of "Versions", the database keeps old versions of objects around for some period of time to support undo and a limited form of time travel.
Also perhaps even name/describe these changes so that you could switch between these revisions.
Under what circumstances would you switch between versions? Could you describe some realistic scenarious that describe what you'd like to be able to do? In the current system, we don't describe versions of individual objects, but we *do* retain meta-data about transactions, which may involve multiple objects. IMO, this is a major improvement over RCS/CVS which *really* only operate on files and have this fairly weak notion (tags) for describing higher-level work.
This would be like RCS/CVS for Zope.
For simple objects, like files, images, and documents it could be. The versioning in the zope database is organized around transactions, *not* objects. You can undo (or in the case of "Versions" commit) transactions which may involve changes to many objects, not just one. This is necessary because undoing (or commiting) changes to just one objects may cause other objects to be made invalid.
Anything in the works on this front?
Nothing major. We are open to suggestions, and especially to descriptions of problems that the current system doesn't solve. It appears that WebDAV will have some requirements along these lines that we'll need to address. Jim -- Jim Fulton mailto:jim@digicool.com Python Powered! Technical Director (888) 344-4332 http://www.python.org Digital Creations http://www.digicool.com http://www.zope.org Under US Code Title 47, Sec.227(b)(1)(C), Sec.227(a)(2)(B) This email address may not be added to any commercial mail list with out my permission. Violation of my privacy with advertising or SPAM will result in a suit for a MINIMUM of $500 damages/incident, $1500 for repeats.