[Zope] Re: What causes the community to stall so often?

[Joel Burton]

> From: zope-admin@zope.org [mailto:zope-admin@zope.org]On Behalf Of Terry
> Hancock
> Sent: Tuesday, March 12, 2002 3:15 AM
> To: danny@adair.net; Zope@zope.org
> Subject: Re: [Zope] Re: What causes the community to stall so often?

> It's probably mostly a visual thing, but to me the ZPT code
> looks really crudded up and hard to read, whereas DTML seems
> pretty straightforward.  (This is not just a question of
> familiarity -- both are pretty new to me). And besides,
> it's obvious that it will only work with HTML (maybe
> general XML formats?).

Yep. Works with any well-formed XML.

> My impression is that ZPT is being pushed pretty hard though,
> despite the fact that it's main claim to fame seems to be that
> it "looks good in Dreamweaver" (or other HTML GUI editor),
> which is fairly irrelevant to me.

Might want to look deeper into ZPT, at least until you understand it's
value.
Yes, it does work well with GUI editors, but it also provides a clean
and predictable interface, whereas there are exceptions to exceptions
about how DTML works and DTML, in general, has a screwier syntax
once you get into it.

> Maybe the real point is that in our organization (which is
> just a couple of people strong :)), the "designers" and
> "programmers" are the same people -- we don't have the kind
> of divisions that the posts on the this list seem to imply
> are common to most users.

I'm a shop on one: sales, designer, programmer, client therapist, etc.
I love ZPT (but also use DTML for non-HTML output, like for ZSQL methods,
etc.)

> The fear then, is that DTML will no longer be maintained
> and will wind up being obsoleted by future changes to
> Zope.  Since there's no real alternative to using Zope
> for my project (which is projected to last longer than
> Zope has yet existed), I fear the possibility of getting
> (1) locked into an out of date system, (2) having to translate
> everything into ZPT despite my misgivings (and/or whatever
> new language is invented a year from now because ZPT is then
> given up on too, and "everyone really ought to use
> YAPTL"), or else (3) having to fork the code and maintain
> our own "Rationalized Object Publishing Environment" (as in
> just enough to hang ourselves), which would be, to put
> it simply, VERY EXPENSIVE. :D

I really wouldn't worry about this. ZC has said many times that DTML is
_not_ disappearing; it's a stable part of the Zope system and they have
every reason to keep it there.