[Zope] why DTML confusing

[Irene Barg]

Hello All,

I do read HOW-TO's, User-Guides, etc., but I think DTML
must be made simpler, or better documentation, or more examples.
As an example, within an <dtml-in> loop:

1.  You can print the values of sequence-items with:

    (index=<dtml-var sequence-index>,
     number=<dtml-var sequence-number>,
     item=<dtml-var sequence-item>)

2.  To test for equality, this does not:

    <dtml-if "sequence-index == 0">
       (<dtml-var count-adassnum> Records found)
    </dtml-if>

3.  While this does work:
    <dtml-if "_['sequence-index'] == 0">
       (<dtml-var count-adassnum> Records found)
    </dtml-if>

I say this is confusing.  Don't tell me to read the Namespace
How-to, or the Zope User Guides, I did, and it's still confusing! 
Unless you find an example, that does exactly what you want, trying to
figure it out with the documentation available can be difficult.  I
found my answer to this in the 
"How-To: (How-to) access the field names and fields of any arbitrary
ZSQL query", but it took a lot of searching the 
Zope site for references to 'dtml-in'. I get so frustrated with DTML, I
want to scream.  Please don't tell me to buy the Zope book, DTML should
be more intuitive.  DTML maybe the heart
of Zope, but it's also it's achilles heel.

-- irene

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Irene Barg			Email:	ibarg@as.arizona.edu
Steward Observatory		Phone:  520-621-2602
933 N. Cherry Ave.
University of Arizona		FAX:    520-621-1891
Tucson, AZ  85721		http://nickel.as.arizona.edu/~barg
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