[Zope-PTK] Member Publishing

[albert boulanger]

   "Spicklemire, Jerry" wrote:
   >         Workflow = State Machine
   > 
   > So obvious, but it just never hit me before.

   Tres just came up with a few more ideas today that build upon that
   concept.

   It's been in the plan for a while to create a portal_workflow object
   that would allow a manager to create and configure a state machine.  But
   you could do even more if:

     - the portal_workflow object were allowed complete control over the
   "workflow_status" attribute of all portal content.  The portal content
   would be ignorant of its own workflow status.

     - you could have multiple state machines and you could assign state
   machines to meta types.

     - permissions were assigned to transitions.

     - all protected actions on an object, including those that don't
   change the object's workflow status, were protected by transitions
   rather than permissions.  (Otherwise the number of necessary permissions
   explodes quickly.)

     - objects could participate in multiple state machines (workflows)
   simultaneously, making substates possible.

   Very hot stuff.  I can't wait to see how it will all work.


Yes, this is more in line with what workflow engines do. They are just
at their core state machines that drive notifications, content
managament functions, or execution of procedures.

Albert