Bryan wrote:

Little and big internal projects aside, I was wondering if Zope could possibly fill a gap that will come about with Linux shortly. That gap is software distribution at the enterprise server to client level.

The field of online software distribution is certainly hot. Marimba, the original Java darling, has reinvented themselves in this field: http://www.marimba.com/products/products.htm They are playing, though, in a pretty complicated mission-critical kind of field. The requirements are pretty daunting.

Linux (and many other OpenSource software and systems) is winning in the server arena, but the corporate desktop world is staying with NT and the consumer world is staying 95/98. While the third will take awhile, the corporate desktop is something that is attainable in the next few years (with all the Windows 2000 issues which I do not want to get into). Microsoft has SMS for NT and even Apple has a better system for MacOS X Server. What does Linux have?

First off, most Linux distributions have RPM. While the format is the same, the filesystem and other distribution or installation-specific configuration may differ. Quite possibly, a Zope-based distributed management system could be built to serve this purpose.

One thing I've seen that's pretty interesting in a low-tech kind of way is rpmfind from rufus.w3.org from a repository.

I guess my main question is if anyone else is trying to forge such a project togther. E.g., does the Caldera Open Administriative System (COAS) plan to solve such software distribution issues? If not, do any others? If not, I'd say it is a BIG DEAL to get such a project underway. And Zope may be the perfect fit for the back-end (hence, why I am posting this to this list instead of a my local LUG).

It's certainly a big deal in that it is an enormous initiative. Take some time to jot down what you think the business goals and the requirements of such a project might be and recruit some volunteers!

Just an idea. Please feel free to pick it apart (short of calling me an idiot, well maybe you should anyway :-). I am still learning Python at this stage (big-time Perl advocate, but Python is definately better for web-apps).

Oh you certainly say all the right things. --Paul