[Zope3-dev] Portlets vs Pagelets

[Jim Fulton]

Garrett Smith wrote:
> Jean-Marc Orliaguet wrote:
> 
>>Jim Fulton wrote:
>>
>>>How do the current patterns deal with shared resources?
>>>
>>>For example, if we have five widgets that all share the same
>>>javascript code, we'll get 5 copies of that code.  It's
>>>even worse for pagelets with needed visable resources like tool bars.
>>>
>>
>>Hi,
>>
>>Indeed, how can a page template know how many widgets it contains for
>>instance? especially if it define slots? Page templates are OK for web
>>designers who read the code, but apart from that they have no
>>knowledge about objects around them, neither "before" or "after"
>>logically speaking. 
>>
>>This shows the need to move away from page templates to handle the
>>logic and treat this inside python classes using real zope objects,
>>schemas, layouts, widgets, etc. In CPSPortlets the javascript code is
>>only shown once per page even if several portlets use the same code,
>>and not shown at all if no portlet uses javascript code, but the
>>logic is done way before the page is displayed and it is done in
>>python. 
>>
>>The current pattern is: page template calls python. turn it around,
>>i.e. python calls page templates.
> 
> 
> I don't think there's one rule to follow here. In practice, Zope pages
> are rendered using both approaches. There's even a third: Python
> generates HTML algorithmically (e.g. widgets).
> 
> My take is that it depends on your application. If you're doing a
> portal, it might make more sense to create an abstract layer along the
> line of schema/widgets. In other cases, it's nice to just hard-code the
> UI and fill in small pieces with Python generated content.
> 
> This is why I keep coming back to the goals underlying the 'portlet vs
> pagelet' debate. So far I see two:
> 
> - Handle UI that uses JavaScript, CSS styles, or other resources that
> should not be duplicated on a page
> 
> - Improve the control/felxbility over how UI is displayed on a page
> (this control/flexiliby might be extended to an admin or end user role,
> e.g. in the case of a portal)

Did you miss the problem statement at:

   http://dev.zope.org/Zope3/PageArchitecture

?

Jim

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