[Zope-dev] RE: [Zope] Barriers to Zope popularity:Part 1: wysiwig editing

David Kankiewicz kankie@thegrid.net
Thu, 23 Sep 1999 20:52:27 -0700


"Jay, Dylan" wrote:
> 
> >
> > What many people forget here is that Zope is a Web
> > Application Platform. It
> > is, first and foremost, designed as a framework for applications.
> >
> > All the DTML Methods and Folder objects and whatnot, are
> > standard objects
> > to help you design an interface, they are part of and build
> > upon the Zope
> > framework. Together with the ZODB, security, the web interface, the
> > marshalling of variable types and RDBMS integration, Zope
> > makes one heck of
> > a Web Application Platform.
> >
> > Zope was designed for Web Application Developers, not designers. The
> > documentation follows this design. I actually feel that
> > dummies should stay
> > away from Zope. Frontpage is for dummies.
> 
> I disagree. I believe the ideal place Zope could end up is as being
> something that was as simple to use as frontpage and as powerful as ... well
> as it already is. I'm not saying that the "simpler" users should be able to
> as powerfull things as "programmer" type users can but it should not be
> unaccessable to them. They should be able to edit and add basic documents. I
> don't want to be the only one who does all the editing of documents with
> zope.

  Having been playing with Zope for some time now, I know Zope is
amazingly customizable! With that customizability comes the huge
requirement, right now, to set up the framework/structure that you will
use to build your web site with. (The ZPT might make this easy to setup
but will never be a complete solution, someone correct me if I'm wrong).
A well thought out design and implementation might provide management
interfaces that would go as far as displaying the structure of the
layout with direct links to edit content.

(this could be done right now and is how i'm currently building my
framework).

  The best idea I've seen on in this thread is the Mozilla editor.  I'll
be studying the xul and other stuff as I have time too. I already
downloaded Mozilla once but never looked at how it could be extended.

  Maybe a soon to be created Zope project will make it as easy as
Frontpage to work with content. But most of the structure/framewok will
have to be implemented on a higher level.


  The best part about Zope that I've seen so far is its not complete and
is being added to constantly.


> I think the solution I suggested with embedding the DTML inside an expanded
> (rendered?) document is very workable. It would allow a novice user to edit
> a DTML document that is potentially in many parts without destroying the
> DTML.
> 
  This sounds like another possible solution for transferring the
content between the web interface and (insert your favorite editor
here).  Something that will no doubt be used if available.  (Might be
workable for the current level stuff, mainly content and properties)


Keep the ideas coming :)

David,
tone..

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