Zope 3 Alpha 1 Released

nosse_elendili writes "These are exciting times for those of us who use Zope, because the long anticipated Zope 3 Alpha 1 has been released! For those who don't know, Zope is a powerful but somewhat obscure free, open-source, cross-platform web application server built around Python. Zope 3 is a complete rewrite and rethinking of the Zope platform so it looks and operates quite differently than previous releases. However, if you have never played with Zope before you should probably just read about Zope 3 and stick to the stable version with the Plone content management system installed. This is only an alpha release after all and Zope3 looks and acts alot like Zope2 + Plone."

Zope Wanabe

[cornice]

This is a stupid question - I hope. I have used Zope before and I understand pretty much how things work. I'm also big Python fan so that's not a problem. However, I still find Zope ugly, inflexible and tedious. Maybe it's because I don't think in Zope but I find, for example, the PostNuke world to be more useful, robust extensible, etc. I think the best example of this is the Zope websites. Why are they so hard to navigate? Why do they look so plain? Why does everyone have a useless calendar stuffed to one side? Don't get me wrong. I _really_ want to like Zope. The concept is exactly what I want - an object oriented web framework built on Python. I just can't seem to get all that excited about it without facing the prospect of writing an entire system from scratch. Am I missing something or is it really that hard to create a highly functional, good looking portal site from Zope? I currently run a couple sites on PostNuke and I incorporate news, a photo system, a BBS style forum and a group calendar. I know Plone looks pretty cool but it still seems cumbersome and difficult to taylor to specific needs. What am I missing?

WebGUI matches Zope but uses Perl

[synq]

I like WebGUI [plainblack.com] better since it is based on perl, well mod_perl actually. That and the fact that I know perl and don't know python.

WebGUI is built for end user usability and for letting the tech people get back to the tech part.

It is really feature rich and contains:

• Flexible styling using built in macro's and HTML::Template.
• Survey creation with no programming required (very cool!!)
• Internationalisation (so you can get it in Dutch, German, Chinese, etc.)
• Built in discussion method's
• Built in calendar
• Built in image gallery
• Built in e-mail forms

There is also open support for WebGUI that can be found here [webgui.nl].

Last time it was mentioned on /. the mysql daemon fell under the heavy load, but if you want to try it right now (and it's slashdotted) you can always go to sourceforge [sourceforge.net].

What will it do for me?

[Randolpho]

I am a big fan of Zope 2, and have written several products and complete websites in that framework (such as cookeville.com [cookeville.com] and tnproperties.com [tnproperties.com]), but I am still confused about Zope3. Since there seem to be a few people in the know about Zope posting here, I thought I would pose the following question: What, exactly will Zope3 do for me that I cannot do in Zope2?

At the moment in Zope2, I can access databases, template my data, or index data directly on the server. I have a powerful security framework built in, as well as fast dynamic scripting.

Other than a user recognition system that does not require simple http authentication (which forces me to use Cookie Crumbler if I absolutely *must* allow my users to log in via form) and the ability to turn off transactions when I don't want or need them, I have just about everything I need to build powerful dynamic websites.

What will I get in Zope3 that I can't do in Zope2?

So far, hype over Zope3 is centered around integrating CMF/Plone. That's all well and good, if you need that, but CMF and Plone are heavy for a content management when I can easily roll my own better-performing sites with ZPT, DTML, or a custom Python Product.

The features that Zope *really* needs seem to be out in the dust in the rush to make a CMF for non-programmers.

So I repeat: What will Zope3 do for me that I can't do with Zope2?