[Zope] RE: URGENT: Can't start up zope

[Jeff Bauer]

Paul,

Please excuse this belated response to your question.

> Thus my question: How much would allowing record storage 
> and management in something you might trust (e.g. bsddb) 
> alleviate the black-box feeling?

Your question was made in the context of the current and
future forms of Zope persistent storage.

From my POV, most stores are black boxes, whether they
are SQL servers, object databases, or some hybrid.

Although each type of database has its particular uses
and relevance, the common thread for me has always been 
can I reliably conduct the following operations:

  1. Populate the database.  For object databases,
     the originating data may be some external non-object
     source, so it may be necessary to populate in stages.  
     (i.e. First drop in the low-level, bottom-of-the-tree 
     stuff, then work my way up the branches, wiring 
     whatever linkages along the way.  It's possible
     this must be done in multiple passes -- a staged 
     build.)

  2. Replicate the database.  Given the database
     has been populated with information, I want to 
     export it to a format of my choice(*): flat file,
     pickle, whatever; copy it to a new location
     a re-populate a fresh database from scratch.

     (*) "my choice" implies I'm responsible for
     implementing it.

  3. Perform maintenance ("fix") the database.
     Despite best efforts, occasionally some corruption
     may occur, possibly as the result of a poorly
     designed user application.  Items 1 & 2 imply
     the possibility of fixing these problems, independent
     of the application code.

  4. Schema evolution.  This tends to be my biggest 
     hassle with object databases, especially in 
     maintaining production systems.  Pickles are
     pleasantly permissive, but I'm mostly comfortable 
     with systems that I can easily populate from 
     scratch.

I've been remiss in keeping up with Jim's work, although
I did review his description of BoboPOS3.  [Slightly 
off-topic, but I'm also wondering if anybody has
considered using the Zope database for any non-Zope
projects.]

Best regards,

Jeff Bauer
Rubicon, Inc.