[Zope] ZClass book from Beehive.de

[Steve Alexander]

FR Chalaoux wrote:
> 
> Hi,
> 
> Before I insert 25DM in Beehive for the ZClass book, I would like to
> have your point of view on this book !

One of my colleagues has just finished working through the tutorial.

I asked her a few questions about it. Here are her answers.

--------

> 1: Is the tutorial you've been doing worth 10 quid?

Definitely (though that's not saying it couldn't be improved)


> 2: What skill level is it aimed at?

Ostensibly beginner, but to really understand it I needed to have a
general understanding of Zope (from doing the Zope tutorial), Python (at
absolute beginner level), a bit of DTML (from reading the DTML
reference, and being talked to by a clever person) and HTML. It was
probably also helpful that I had a vague background knowledge of OO
principles, databases and stuff.

So, aimed at ZClass beginners with relevant background knowledge.


> 3: What did you get out of it?

I feel competent to set up a simple interactive application using
ZClasses now.
Security and linking to external databases were outside the scope of the
tutorial.
 

> 4: Other general comments?

It told a good story, presented coherent examples, built up a little
self-contained system, and generally speaking, taught it well.

However, there  were a few iffy bits: some of the HTML in the examples
was technically incorrect, and the DTML coding style was sometimes
over-verbose and not properly explained. 

My biggest problem using the tutorial was caused by my not realising
that ZClass meta-types are case-sensitive. This was not stressed in the
tutorial - take care!

Overall I'd rate it 8/10, losing points chiefly for poor coding style
and a few inadequate explanations. As a whole, it's been very useful
(and saved the CTO a lot of time talking me through things).

--------

We'll be sending our detailed comments on the explanations, and HTML and
DTML problems, back to Beehive. 


You may also wish to look at the ZCatalog tutorial, the Job-Board
how-to, and the Creating a catalog-aware ZClass how-to.

  http://www.zope.org/Documentation/How-To/ZCatalogTutorial
  http://www.zope.org/Members/mukhsein/job_board_howto
  http://www.zope.org/Members/AlexR/CatalogAware

Also, see what you can find on the Zope Documentation Project pages:

  http://zdp.zope.org/

--
Steve Alexander
Software Engineer
Cat-Box limited