[Zope] Linuxworld's article (and a plea for a better documentation)

[Alessandro Bottoni]

Have you seen this article?

http://www.linuxworld.com/linuxworld/lw-2000-03/lw-03-penguin_6.html

Here a quote:

"It took me an awfully long time just to figure out how to start a new
application. And I got stuck immediately after that. I could create various
other Zope objects; one of my creations opens a connection to a database,
for example, and another queries that database. But I still haven't figured
out how Zope expects me to tie these objects together into a useful whole. 
This confusion on my part is a result of what I see as Zope's biggest
problem: it has very little documentation on the mundane details of how to
get started. There's plenty written about the innards of Zope and how to use
DTML. But I'd give real money to have a handbook that just tells me, step by
step, how to build the skeleton of an application using the Web interface. 
If you're an old hand at Zope and know of such a document available in hard
copy or on the Web, by all means share the wealth and let me know."

I have to agree with Nick Petreley (the author of this article): I had (and
I still have)  the same problems.

IMHO, Zope urgently needs:
1) A good introductory guide (the existing tutorial, clearly, is not
enough...)
2) A sample web site showing the most important features at work (this would
imply the automated installation and configuration of the required software,
like MySQL e.g.)
3) A set of task-specific guides (in this case, too, the existing
documentation seems to be not enough for an absolute beginner...)

I hope that the Zope development group will welcome this plea for a better
documentation.

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Alessandro Bottoni (Alessandro.Bottoni@Think3.com)
Web Programmer @ Think3 inc. (www.think3.com)
I do not speak for think3 and they return the favour