Aloha, Mark, Jonathan (Integic) wrote:
What does matter is that DTML is very similar to RHTML (as in Ruby On Rails), ASP, etc. ZPT requires a new way of thinking. I would much rather convert RHTML to or from DTML than to or from ZPT.
So I don't really get the benefit of using ZPT. The fact that no one outside of Zope seems to have created a ZPT-like solution suggests to me that ZPT, as I said, solves a problem which doesn't exist.
As mentioned other frameworks use TAL/METAL (the basis for ZPT; bear in mind ZPT is a zope-specific use of TAL and METAL) - I have worked with Roundup a bit and it was a joy to see that it used TAL for template language. One major factor nobody has mentioned yet is that TAL/METAL offers much better ability to separate logic, presentation and content. By their very nature HTML-munging template markups violate this well-known (if not well-respected ;-) design principle. The WYSIWYG editor thing is merely a side benefit of markup that is both XML compliant and cleanly separates logic, presentation and content. I suspect that nobody else created TAL because it is easier to go with what one is familiar/comfortable with - HTML-munging - than to break new ground, even when the new ground is better in both design and practice. Sure DTML is more like PHP and ASP and Ruby/Rails' HTML munge and Alfresco's HTML munge and so on (whatever they're called). As my grandma used to say, if everyone were jumping off a cliff, would you do it too just because they were? ;-) cheers, John S. -- John Schinnerer - MA, Whole Systems Design ------------------------------------------ - Eco-Living - Whole Systems Design Services People - Place - Learning - Integration john@eco-living.net http://eco-living.net