[ZDP] >> I'm willing to maintain either ZSnippets or ZHow-To. Are there >any there >any

[Rik Hoekstra]

>> I'm willing to maintain either ZSnippets or ZHow-To. Are there >any
>> snippets as yet.

>Well, maintainer is a big word at the moment. Just, if in the future > we get some people, we better give every project a certain
> 'maintainer', ie. somebody who will answer question concerning 
> that project and who helps the volunteers for that project. And 
> also maintains the project-folder. This shouldn't be lot's of work...

OK, good idea. Count me in.

<snip Maik>
[tom wrote:]
> About ZBook and ZTutorials.

> Yes, my opinion too is that ZBook needs its tutorials, but this 
> doesn't mean that both have to be created by the same 
> person... if we can manage to add links to ZBook chapters
> which point to a tutorial, then we've a nice book. 

I agree that tutorials and text are different. It is not quite what I meant with my post though. THere seems to be some confusion in terminology here. WHile my changing context chapter (for example) was not meant as a tutorial per se but more as an explanation with illustrations, it seems that the zdp group considers it to be a tutorial. That is fine by me. On the other hand this bypasses my main point, which is that a book-length treatment of Zope will benefit very much from an integrated treatment of Zope, because it is an integrated environment. Or, to put it another way: how would you understand DTML (python methods etc) if you do not know what acquisition is?

THis  is reflected in Kamon's new ZCL.

> I see some benefits by splitting these 2 up :

> 1. A person who likes to write, doesn't has to make a tutorial 
> and a person  who likes to create a tutorial doesn't has to write 
> lots of text.

OK, fair enough

>2. From ZBook, we can always link to certain tutorials... this way 
> ZBook is provided with tutorials.
> 3. People only interested in tutorials, can easely find the tutorial > they
> want, if they haven't to read lot's of text.

The question is, what has to be in the text then. Shouldn't text contain examples as well? Where is the (your) difference between  text and tutorials? I know what for me is a tutorial (essentially a lengthy howto ;-)), but not all text with examples are tutorials. For me examples are also means to show things (interrelateness) which are hard to grasp by words alone.


>   Of course, then the tutorials Kamon suggested are a little bit 
> too big to
>   link to one chapter of ZBook, but perhaps splitting them up 
> and creating
>         smaller tutorials will do.

OK

> Making good tutorials isn't that easy and there aren't much 
> people who like to write one. Also some people just don't like
> writing endless text. By splitting ZBook/ZTutorials we can 
> attrack solely ZTutorial writers and solely ZBook writers... At the 
> end, we have 2 different products, but they
> can be linked to each other and thus if neseccary, people can 
> find more
> information on the other side of the link.

In Kamon's new ZCL there is room for both. He just divided them in two parts. What do you think about that part.

Moreover. where do the howto's fit in this picture and the reference material?

Rik