[Zope] ZClass book from Beehive.de
Steve Alexander
steve@cat-box.net
Sat, 03 Jun 2000 15:16:12 +0100
FR Chalaoux wrote:
>
> Hi,
>
> Before I insert 25DM in Beehive for the ZClass book, I would like to
> have your point of view on this book !
One of my colleagues has just finished working through the tutorial.
I asked her a few questions about it. Here are her answers.
--------
> 1: Is the tutorial you've been doing worth 10 quid?
Definitely (though that's not saying it couldn't be improved)
> 2: What skill level is it aimed at?
Ostensibly beginner, but to really understand it I needed to have a
general understanding of Zope (from doing the Zope tutorial), Python (at
absolute beginner level), a bit of DTML (from reading the DTML
reference, and being talked to by a clever person) and HTML. It was
probably also helpful that I had a vague background knowledge of OO
principles, databases and stuff.
So, aimed at ZClass beginners with relevant background knowledge.
> 3: What did you get out of it?
I feel competent to set up a simple interactive application using
ZClasses now.
Security and linking to external databases were outside the scope of the
tutorial.
> 4: Other general comments?
It told a good story, presented coherent examples, built up a little
self-contained system, and generally speaking, taught it well.
However, there were a few iffy bits: some of the HTML in the examples
was technically incorrect, and the DTML coding style was sometimes
over-verbose and not properly explained.
My biggest problem using the tutorial was caused by my not realising
that ZClass meta-types are case-sensitive. This was not stressed in the
tutorial - take care!
Overall I'd rate it 8/10, losing points chiefly for poor coding style
and a few inadequate explanations. As a whole, it's been very useful
(and saved the CTO a lot of time talking me through things).
--------
We'll be sending our detailed comments on the explanations, and HTML and
DTML problems, back to Beehive.
You may also wish to look at the ZCatalog tutorial, the Job-Board
how-to, and the Creating a catalog-aware ZClass how-to.
http://www.zope.org/Documentation/How-To/ZCatalogTutorial
http://www.zope.org/Members/mukhsein/job_board_howto
http://www.zope.org/Members/AlexR/CatalogAware
Also, see what you can find on the Zope Documentation Project pages:
http://zdp.zope.org/
--
Steve Alexander
Software Engineer
Cat-Box limited