Hi John, In article <20011224140203.74465.qmail@web21102.mail.yahoo.com>, John public wrote:

I am a Newbie programmer. I started programming in Python a few weeks ago. I have written one succesful tic tac toe program. I assume I can learn Zope and Python at the same time. If this is wrong please let me know.

Yes, you can - but you can do a lot in Zope with no Python at all. In Zope, what you can do with Python is also limited by the need for security in a web application - so it's good to get a feel for Python before finding out how you can shoot yourself in the foot by exposing all its facilities in Zope! ;0)

I just downloaded Zope 2.4. 3 It installed, or so it said, but I can't seem to find the start button.

Zope normally runs as a service - the only thing you get to see is the web (and other server) interfaces - try:- http://localhost:8080 - for a quick intro http://localhost:8080/manage - for the management interface This is assuming you are on Win NT or 2K and you local machien resolves to localhost (if not try substituting 127.0.0.1 for localhost in the above URLs), and have chosen to run Zope as a service - if it's not running as a service or you are on Win 9x, look for start.bat in the Zope Website folder, run that and try those URLs... If you're on Windows, let me know if this works and I should be able to help you - if Linux, I'm afraid I'm the wrong man for the job!

Is building basic web web pages in Zope easier or harder than Writing code in Python?

Much, much easier.

Any good Tutorials for complete begginers to Zope and web page building?

Take a look at the Zope Book at:- http://www.zope.org/Members/michel/ZB/ Specifically for Scripting see:- http://www.zope.org/Members/michel/ZB/ScriptingZope.dtml The very fact that scripting isn't covered until chapter 8 will give you the idea that you can do a lot without Python... I guess I'm just a little way down the same road you are embarking upon. I decided to learn Zope in parallel with Python, and haven't even got to scripting yet. In my Python travels, I found the Python stuff useful at:- http://www.devshed.com/Server_Side/Python The bit about CGI programming in Python is interesting in order to give you a feel for how much Zope does for you, and how much of other folks mature code you can use in Zope. HTH! Cheers & Seasons Greets, PhilK