[Zope] Re: ZClases or Zope Products?

Alexandre Ratti alex@gabuzomeu.net
Mon, 17 Apr 2000 15:27:56 +0200


Hi Bob,


First, please note I never created any complex product with Zope so I'm no 
expert.

Here is my personal feeling about it:
- ZClasses are great to easily create simple products.
- When dealing with complex products, use Zope Products, especially if you 
are a Python developper.

Pros of ZClasses
- They are fairly easy to create and modify. No need to grok Zope innards.
- You can develop and update them through the Web. You don't need file 
access and you don't need to reboot the server.
- They are fairly safe. You're less likely to crash your server with ZClasses.
- They are better documented.
All in all I feel they are great to create custom versions of build-in 
object types and simple products (eg. up to 20 Classes).

Cons of ZClasses
- They still are a fairly young technology. You might run into strange issues.
- They make it more difficult to create complex class hierarchies. You 
cannot easily change base classes, move code and properties around, etc.
- Many users feel that DTML is less intuitive than Python.
For over a 100 classes you'll probably be much better off with Products.

Also, have you considered using Python to create base classes and subclass 
these classes in ZClasses? I heard it's possible.


HTH.

Alexandre

At 12:00 13/04/2000 -0700, you wrote:
>From: "Bob Erb" <Bob@InstantAppointment.Com>
>To: "Zope Main List" <zope@zope.org>
>Subject: [Zope] ZClases or Zope Products?
>Date: Thu, 13 Apr 2000 14:55:44 -0400
>
>   My application design lists more than 100 classes.
>Is it better to construct the classes as ZClasses or
>as Zope Products wrapping Python classes? What should
>I consider when choosing between the two approaches?
>
>--
>Bob Erb
>InstantAppointment.Com
>(603)930-8836