[Zope3-Users] How do I learn how to use Zope?

[Edward Zwart]

I've been limping along for a couple weeks trying to learn this
framework, and I'm completely stuck, and can barely even form a good
question... so apologies in advance...

My problem is I'm brand new to Zope, and it's impossible to tell when
I'm reading something current or not.  I've been following the z3c
(3.4 specific?) tutorial and also von Weitershausen's book.  But I
think sometimes those two approaches are mutually exclusive.  I don't
even know if that's true or not.  If someone could confirm that, that
alone would be great.

Someone on this list recently pointed out to me that Zope 3.4
directory stucture (using zopeproject) versus the 3.3 one (using
mkzopeinstance) was the issue I was encountering...  but I really
don't know how far that issue goes when I'm reading other literature.

Then today, I downloaded the just-announced z3c.form 2.0.0 demo to see
if I could gain some insight into the various problems I've created
for myself in the last few weeks, and I see again a completely
different directory structure!

So, there's mkzopeinstance, zopeproject, and the demo uses bootstrap.py...

using mkzopeinstance, there's your root instance folder with an etc
directory (with some of the config files in it)...

using zopeproject, you get site.zcml and zope.conf and others in the
root folder, no etc directory...

and then there's the demo using bootstrap.py....with config files
under the parts directory (as well as the db, no more var)....

Ok, so how do I learn from this?  It is extremely difficult to
penetrate!  Is there a process for reducing this barrier to newcomers?
 What can I do to help?!  I'm sold on many aspects of Zope, and I
would really like to be able to employ them!

Please pardon the rant, but I've held off a long time, and I'm really
at a loss...

In the meantime, here's a specific problem...

I am trying to make a custom template to render my form...

Basically, I followed the Carduner z3c tutorial, and am trying to do
this in my template...

<div tal:content="view/render">the form goes here?</div>

That gives an infinite recursion error.  Am I supposed to implement
render()?  I would think it would just display the form as it does if
I do not define a custom template.

Thanks

e.