-----Original Message----- From: Cary O'Brien [mailto:cobrien@Radix.Net] Sent: Tuesday, June 15, 1999 5:05 PM To: zope@zope.org Subject: [Zope] Zope, PostgreSQL 6.5, and some newbie questions

Ok, after fiddling around with zope of a month or so I've finally started to build something. Basically it tracks software/hardware bugs/mods in a PostgreSQL backend database. (I'm using a brand new PostgreSQL 6.5 build, which works fine, if anyone cares).

After a day of coding I've got insert and view pages and a whole bunch of issues/observations/questions. Here goes. Sorry it is so long. I've been kind of saving up questions.

0) Zope looks awesome. Time will tell.

1) Is there an easy way to see error messages? Netscape (3.0) won't show me the source of a frame that had an error, so to see the stack trace I need to use lynx and backslash.

Set the BOBO_DEBUG_MODE env variable to 1. Depending on how your use Zope, you can add this to your pcgi resource file (Zope.cgi) or you can run z2.py with BOBO_DEBUG_MODE=1 on the command line. This will stop Zope from embeding error values and traceback in HTML comments. Netscape 3.0?

2) I want a basic view table/edit/update/delete interface to the underlying tables. The Z Search interface + Z SQL method woks ok for queries but doesn't provide much support for edits/deletes. Am I missing something or do I have to roll my own forms?

You have to roll your own forms. But you might want to look into Anthony Baxters dataminer tool. http://www.interlink.com.au/anthony/dmcdemo.html

3) In order to keep the DTML uncluttered, I've created dtml methods to render things like HTML selections. Two questions.: First, how do I access them if I move them to a subfolder in the same folder as the dtml document? Second, how do I pass parameters to the dtml methods?

If you put them in a subfolder you can: <!--#var "folder.method()"--> and passing parameters: <!--#var "folder.method(var1, var2)"--> Putting methods in a subfolder is also useful if they are very *specific* methods, but it is also useful to put very *general* methods *above* where you want to call them, and then just let Acquisition find them and call them.

4) Can Z SQL methods return anything? After an insert I'd like to get some more information.

Uhm.. I'll let someone else answer this one! (show's off my SQL ignorance)

5) I've got the select (easy) and insert (too much typing!) working, next I need to do an update. For this I need to do a select using a key, get the current values of the row, set all the text areas and selects to the current values, render the form, and then set up the target dtml document to do the update. Is there an example of this anywhere? Or a product to do it automagically?

Same as your last question. ;)

6) How the heck do I set up a back button. PARENTS[1] doesn't seem to do it.

Uhm, need more info here. Back from where to what? If your in a DTML Method, PARENTS[1] is the folder that *contains* the folder that contains your method. Remember, Methods are not 'objects' like other Zope objects (well they are object, but they're method objects ;), everything from a DTML Methods perspective is from the perspective of the folder than contains the method. So, PARENTS[0] is the Folder than contains the method that has the expression: <!--#var "PARENTS[0]"--> But even that's not *entirely* useful to you, because this is rendered as: <Folder instance at 0x848f910> PARENTS[0] is the Folder *object*. Perhaps your looking for: <!--#var URL1--> -Michel

Thanks in advance,

-- cary

Cary O'Brien

_______________________________________________ Zope maillist - Zope@zope.org http://www.zope.org/mailman/listinfo/zope

(For developer-specific issues, use the companion list, zope-dev@zope.org - http://www.zope.org/mailman/listinfo/zope-dev )