[Zope] publishing objects

[Scott Lewis]

hi folks,

i've got some beginner questions about zope. i spent a fair amount 
of time with various documentation, but couldn't find the answers.

first, the specific question. the docs talk about publishing objects, 
with zope translating URLs to method calls. i get the impression 
that i can call arbitrary Python objects through zope, but i can't get 
it to work. i've tried it with IIS and the included HTTP server.

let's say i want to call somemethod() in test.py. the docs say that 
http://localhost:9673/test/somemethod will do it. but where should 
test.py live? what's the home document directory of the builtin 
HTTP server? and if i use IIS, how do i get it to use zope. by calling 
http://localhost:9673/manage, i can access the zope ODB, but not 
python modules outside the database. is this possible? using IIS, i 
could access ODB objects via 
http://localhost/zope/cgi/zope.exe/manage, but again, how do i get 
to the python objects?

do the modules have to exist in the zope ODB? if so, how do i 
import them? i know about external methods, but it seems 
cumbersome to create them, method by method, object by object.

what i want to do is create a web application for reading and writing 
information from a database (a registry of trainers and trainings). i 
have begun developing this using ASP, IIS, and SQL Server. i'm 
always looking for non-microsoft alternatives.

it looks like i can develop business objects in python that model 
the business rules, then use zope to access the objects and 
control the presentation. in another language, those business 
objects would encapsulate the database access. i know zope has 
database adapters, but if i don't already have data in a relational 
database, do i even need to use one. could the application be 
implemented solely with the object database? i'm used to relational 
databases, so when i start with new projects i start with the 
database. but maybe the zope ODB provides what i need... any 
ideas?

thanks in advance for your time.

-scott


-----
Scott Lewis
Baltic Avenue Productions
csl@balticave.com