[Zope3-dev] Re: RFC: ZConfig and other formats for ZCML

[Martin Aspeli]

Chris Withers <chris <at> simplistix.co.uk> writes:

> 
> Rocky Burt wrote:
> > I was about to make that same point.  Having to know how to use two
> > different configuration types makes getting started harder.
> 
> ...well, I'll say it again, you have to know both of these anyway 

Except ZConfig on/off switches are very easy to understand just by reading the
zope.conf file. That doesn't mean that same syntax would make managing 
something
as complex as the type of wiring ZCML is currently used for any clearer, 
though.

I'd be in favour of switching zope.conf to an XML-based format as well, 
personally.

> >   - building applications or products that need to generate
> > configuration files is much easier if the config files are XML-based -
> > parsing and generating gets much easier
> 
> Can you give a more specific use case here? I've never had to generate 
> config files in a way that would have been easier had they been XML-based...

Commercial development tools typically have pretty decent XML support, and if
you were to write e.g. a ZCML editor as an Eclipse plug in, being able to rely
on existing XML components would be much easier. Developers familiar with J2EE,
.NET etc. are used to XML configuration files, and have editors and tools they
are comfortable with. Being able to use those same tools (oh, it's just XML) 
may
ease the learning curve a little.

Also, I assume there's a DTD or XML Schema for the ZCML syntax, which would let
such tools validate and auto-complete ZCML syntax - a valuable way to save time
if you're not intimately familiar with the syntax.

Martin