[Zope3-Users] Zope3 startup

Giovannetti, Mark giovanne at nrcan.gc.ca
Fri Mar 2 12:31:22 EST 2007


Hi Marius,

Thanks for confirming some of my questions!  Is there a book
that you would recommend that explains how python deals with
all this?  I have read Apress' Beginning Python and I have read
bits and pieces of the online python docs.  I am willing to
pick up other python books if there are some good ones.

Other comments inline:

> From: Marius Gedminas
> On Wed, Feb 28, 2007 at 11:47:15AM -0500, Giovannetti, Mark wrote:
> > Hello,

[snip]

> > 
> > 1. At zope startup, each *-configure.zcml in etc/package-includes
> > is read.  
> > Q. The __init__.py file for each package is then executed, correct?
> > A. Yes, since my testing indicates this is the case.  I had problems
> > understanding this since the idiom is to just place a comment in 
> > the __init__ file and it seemed rather useless to a new user.
> 
> The __init__.py file is executed when you import a package.  That
> happens as a side effect when ZCML directives refer to classes and
> functions in packages.  The purpose of a __init__.py is to 
> define names that could be imported, and not to run some 
> initialization code.
> 
> In fact, this is how Python imports modules: it executes the 
> .py file of the module.  (It does this at most once during the 
> program's execution, unless you explicitly ask it to reload 
> modules.  Zope 3 never asks.)

Great, now I think I have a good handle on what is going on.  This
also explains why I have to restart zope when I make code changes
(something that puzzled me very briefly when I started learning).

So if I wanted to register utilities without using ZCML, I could
place the provideUtility(...) calls in an __init__.py or directly
within the utility's .py module.  Yes?

> 
> > 2. Each configure.zcml file in the package's root directory (the
> > one pointed to by the *-configure.zcml in package-includes) is
> > parsed.
> > Q. Does each class referred to in a <class..> directive have
> > the class' entire module loaded/executed or is the class just
> > registered somewhere for future use?  
> > A. ?
> 
> Yes, the module is imported.

Thank you.

> 
> > 3. Utilities and such in zcml.
> > Q. Does each utility have its module executed to create the
> > instance (utilities are instances, right?)
> > A. I think so, but I'm not sure, see #2.
> 
> Yes, the module is imported.
> 
> > I hope someone can clear this up for me.  I never managed to
> > find a good explanation of the flow of control for zope3 
> > startup and initialization.  I have read both books already.
> 
> In brief, Zope 3 reads the configuration file (zope.conf), 
> finds out the
> name of the root zcml file (site.zcml, usually), then loads the ZCML
> configuration (which involves parsing all the zcml files that include
> each other, importing Python modules and accessing names defined in
> those), executes the configuration (which involves modifying global
> registries of adapters, utilities, security declarations 
> etc), opens or creates the ZODB database, and then starts 
> listening on network ports.
> 
> Marius Gedminas

I noticed that I could see this happening by watching the 
output of:

# tail -F zope-instance/log/transcript.log

if I add the following 'level debug' option to zope.conf 
(from a prior thread):

<eventlog>
  # This sets up logging to both a file and to standard output
  # (STDOUT).  The "path" setting can be a relative or absolute
  # filesystem path or the tokens STDOUT or STDERR.
  level debug

  <logfile>
    path $LOGDIR/z3.log
    formatter zope.exceptions.log.Formatter
  </logfile>

  <logfile>
    path STDOUT
    formatter zope.exceptions.log.Formatter
  </logfile>
</eventlog>

I can see all of the zcml files being called.

Mark

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