Tim Nash wrote at 2006-1-31 11:48 -0800:
... I have "completed" my first zope product and I find that the change in mindset is the biggest challenge. Zope is cool but it is quite different from php or java or cgi.
Have you read the "Zope Developper Guide"? It is something like a basic guide to product development in Zope 2.
... I have downloaded many of the products from zope.org but they really don't tie everything togather.
"Products" are extensions that try to have very few dependancies. Therefore, they try not to tie other things together but use only services of Zope (which is always available). The things that tie together are Zope itself and larger frameworks on top of it, such as e.g. the CMF or Plone/CPS/Silva.
I am looking for something that covers login in users,
Look for the product "PAS" (PluggableAuthenticationService).
building tables out of data stored in zodb,
There is a product "TinyTables" (or similar) for (as the name tells you) "tiny" tables. Zope does not (yet) support large tables (it is not a relational database). But, you can use the "ZCatalog" to search your objects. Read the "searching" chapter in the Zope Book (Online, 2.7 edition).
... getters and setters for objects in the zodb,
There is no difference in attribute access for persistent objects (those in the ZODB) and standard Python objects. Read the Python tutorial.
collecting a variable in one page and passing it on to another page
You have the standard HTML facility (e.g. query string and hidden variables; function in "ZTUtils.Zope" help you in using them) and you have sessions (explained in the Zope Book; read it!)
where it modifies the data display, working with Sessions, etc. I guess what I'm looking for is a template for a real application, not for the individual pieces of functionality.
I guess, you read the resources mentioned above ("Zope Developper Guide" and "Zope Book, 2.7 edition, online") and then come back with concrete questions. Maybe, you then write the tutorial you are looking for now -- to the profit of future new Zope users... -- Dieter