[Zope] Help needed for a s(i|a)mple site

[Mike Pelletier]

<flight@mathi.uni-heidelberg.de> wrote:

> I wanted to use ZClasses since they seemed to be a nice and easy way to
> customize and limit the user interface (no dozens of products in a
folder's
> "Add" list) for content managers. I think this is how you did Zope.org,
> not ?

    Well, yes and no.  Our ZClasses package up certain kinds of member
contributed content, but typically not where a DTML Document could have been
used.  ZClasses are not used for the site structure.  The site structure is
still done with Folders and DTML Methods, which find the ZClasses in the
ZCatalog.  The only time I can think of where I might advocate using a
Folder sub-ZClass instead of actual Folders is if you wanted to provide a
simplified management interface to content managers, but even then I'd only
do this if the content managers were the general public such as for a
Geocities type situation.  Zope.org does not do this.

    I'm certainly not saying "Don't do this" though.  Just be aware that
ZClasses still have a wild-frontiersy feel, and this is likely to be the
more difficult route.

> But without ZClasses, I wouldn't be able to customize the user experience
> for content editors the way you did in Zope.org, would I ?

    I don't understand what you say here.  What is meant by "customize the
[content managers's] experience"?  Members still see the standard Folder
management interface, and 'flat' content is still mostly done with DTML
Methods and Documents.  Things like News Items, Links, etc, which we want to
have additional behaviour are ZClasses.

> I'm still struggling with one problem: Every SFolder should contain at
> least one SPage (let's call it index_spage). How can I have that subobject
> be added to any SFolder object ? If I try to add an SPage object to my
> SFolderClass, I get an AttributeError from Zope (using 2.1.0beta1):

    Add programatically it from the manage_addSPage method.  If you add it
directly to your folderish ZClass, all SFolders will share a single SPage.

Mike.