[Zope] Zope Database in XML

[Theodore Patrick]

Ahhhh....

Oracle's approach to this is an add-on to 8i called IFS(Internet File
System). It renders a database to http(woo...woo, Zope does this in its
native functionality). Although, they are working on a renderer for native
file systems. This would enable object methods for making files on the fly.

As Zope already accomplishes this(rendering objects), thus presenting the
view of the oo database is thus a filter. HTTP,FTP,CIFS,NFS,POP,IMAP all are
protocols that speak the requesting clients language. Make Zope the engine
and supply a framework in Zserver to plug in the server renderer.

Samba is a great example. It renders between file systems quite well,
although it is rather a tough and complex animal and very specialized.
Although it would work along the same lines.

Actually, there is a PERL module to simulate file systems already. It could
be good start. Considering that most file viewing on Windows is moving to
HTML, the Network Drive is looking more and more like a simple security
login with a connection that is persistent, rather than actually mapping the
drive.

A distributed (native-CIFS/NFS) file system would change the industry.
Actually it already has (http) through a browser window. I am wondering when
it will occur as seamlessly as not having to be in a browser. If an ORB
existed that could render data to the requesting protocol, it would be a
great product, I think ZOPE could do this through the ZServer architecture.

The Server in this case is the renderer, the ORB is the fulfillment
component and the OO Database is the storage mechanism. The protocol plug-in
is stored in Zserver and renders the appropriate view of the data.

 PROTOCOL |    SERVER    |   ORB   |  OO DATABASE  |

</OS ADD-ON CLIENT> 
   HTTP   |    ZSERVER   |    --- ZOPE ---         |     Client dependencies
   FTP    |    ZSERVER   |    --- ZOPE ---         |     Applications
designed to be client/server!!!

   IMAP   |    ZSERVER   |    --- ZOPE ---         |
   POP    |    ZSERVER   |    --- ZOPE ---         |
</OS ADD-ON CLIENT> 

<OS NATIVE>   
   CIFS   |    ZSERVER   |    --- ZOPE ---         |     No Client
dependencies - Native Applications
   NFS    |    ZSERVER   |    --- ZOPE ---         |     CLIENT/SERVER
functionality yet no dependencies!
</OS NATIVE>                                             OS support is the
dependency!

If the rendering engine were modular, ZOPE would always be first in
delivering support for new protocols and client functionality(DAV
Support!!!), without changing the structure of the underlying database. The
data exchange between the ZSERVER AND ZOPE would have to be managed. "You
wouldn't want to serve a POP client an Excel file unless it is an attachment
just as you wouldn't want to render a query to a FILE SYSTEM accept ones
that have been designated as OK." Get It?

It would save the world a little time and effort if one system could render
data to a diverse set of clients. Rather than making a new server every time
a new client arrives. I could simply build a layer of translation(XML) for a
client and BINGO! New client/server.

At the Native OS level this has the most power. Rendering live data into an
Excel file on the fly is a real world application that would be a huge hit
right now. "I want this months sales report... open Sales.xls  BINGO!!! The
data is there." I would really like to edit html in Dreamweaver as I
regularly do and have it render into Zope. If you had file system level
support every known application could be stored inside of Zope or have
access to the data inside of ZOPE.

Here is the interesting one:

If you can have direct file access you could:

Open a client application out of an oo database that rendered a view of the
database back at you.

(Sounds awfully like an OS!!!)

Just Thoughts.....


Theodore E. Patrick
email: tpatrick@indigonetworks.com <mailto:tpatrick@indigonetworks.com> 
phone: 615-777-0070 ext.125
 
Indigo Networks - The Ultimate Choice In Who Sees You.
http://www.indigonetworks.com
 



-----Original Message-----
From: Ross J. Reedstrom [mailto:reedstrm@rice.edu]
Sent: Tuesday, March 23, 1999 3:57 PM
To: Zope Mailing List
Subject: Re: [Zope] Zope Database in XML


Theodore Patrick wrote:
> 
> What I am referring to is rendering objects in the ZOPE database to a file
> system view. The object database could be managed as a Network
Drive(except
> that the view would be data in the ZOPE object database). You could
through
> some translation (xml or other) render the object database to CIFS/NFS.

<snipped various interesting examples of filesystem access to zope>

> 
> I guess what I am asking is: Can Zope act like a CIFS/NFS file
> system(virtual file system) with a layer of translation for converting
Zope
> Objects to File system objects directly (XML or other)?
> 

You seem to be asking for a hybrid of Zope and Samba ;-)  Seriously, we
have Samba, so one answer would be a filesystem driver for the undelying
OS that talks to the Zope server to get its information. This could be
re-exported as a samba share, or NFS or AFS or Coda or what-have-you. 
I've been musing about it for linux for a little bit - I'm going to try
and convince one of the bright sparks around here to take a crack at it.
For NT hosted Zope, you'd need to write an equivalent filesystem driver
- apparently the the SDK for that is ~$1000.

Oh, and parts of this are already present in the ZServer - it talks FTP,
and there was some discussion of exposing object properties as virtual
docs of some sort. Check the list archives.

Ross

-- 
Ross J. Reedstrom, Ph.D., <reedstrm@rice.edu> 
NSBRI Research Scientist/Programmer
Computer and Information Technology Institute
Rice University, 6100 S. Main St.,  Houston, TX 77005

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