[BlueBream] bb.kickstart?

[Paul Harouff]

Speaking of bb.admin ...

What I'd really like to see is a bb.kickstart interface. There are
many things that programmers don't like about Microsoft Access, but
the one thing they got right was the ability to rapidly prototype:

1. Use a GUI to create desired tables
2. Use a GUI to create desired queries from the tables
3. Use a GUI, templates, and library of controls to create desired
forms from the tables and queries
4. Use a GUI to assign events to form controls
5. The GUI automatically generates generic VBA code for form events
that can be edited later
6. Use a GUI and templates to create database reports

You can create a simple database application for almost any purpose in
only a few hours.

How difficult would it be to do something similar in BlueBream?

1. Use a GUI to define zodb object classes
2. Use a GUI, templates, and library of controls to create simple
forms to query, add, delete, and edit the zodb objects
3. Use a GUI to assign typical events to form controls
4. The GUI automatically generates the generic python code for the
interface, view, and zcml files
5. Use a GUI and templates to generate generic web pages to display
the zodb objects

Obviously, the tool would be very simple and limited, but using a
rapid prototyping environment to set up the basic application
framework is a huge timesaver, and ensures that beginners at least
start with properly formatted code.

The more generic the templates are, the better. It is best if you
don't make any assumptions about what kind of content the user is
trying to create. It seems like the available zope tools online are
only for creating sales, blogs and newspaper websites - good for what
they do, but limiting if you are not trying to create a sales, blog,
or newspaper site. I would rather generate a generic framework
suitable for any type of database application using a library of
controls and templates that could be applied for any content. Once I
have the basic framework, then I can customize it to my content.

Paul