[Zope] Bag 'o newbie questions

[Dieter Maurer]

Michael S. Fischer writes:
 > 1) We used PHP's "auto_prepend_file" and "auto_append_file" directives
 > to paste in a standard header and footer to every HTML document below
 > the root.  Is there a facility by which we can do this in Zope without
 > having each page explicitly call <dtml-var> to render the header and
 > footer?
Your options (there may be more):

  *  You present your objects through a specialized "view" method.
     It can add a header and footer as wanted.

     Drawback: your URL's must become "<path_to_your_object>/view".

  *  You role out your own product (you may look at HTMLDocument
     for an example)

  *  You use CMF, maybe in combination with your own product.
     Look at the "Document" class (for an example).

  *  You use dynamic patching to override the "index_html" method
     of your objects. You set it to your "view" method above in
     the first option.

 > ...
 > a) <dtml-tree> won't render unless index_html is a DTML method (it won't
 > work if index_html is a DTML document)
That should be simple:

   Forget about DTML Document. Only use DTML Methods.

 > Help me understand the
 > namespace issue here:  is it not sufficient that a DTML document is
 > calling the DTML method that has the <dtml-tree> call?
Read DTML objects in 

  <http://www.dieter.handshake.de/pyprojects/zope/book/chap3.html>

 > b) I want the <dtml-tree> call to render a tree rooted at / no matter
 > which page a user is visiting.  I tried encapsulating the <dtml-tree>
 > call in a <dtml-with expr="PARENTS[-1]"> as described at 
 > <http://www.zopelabs.com/cookbook/1003151229> but when I visit
 > /a/index_html I see a tree rooted at /a.  What am I doing wrong?
Try (untested):

 <dtml-let root="PARENTS[-1]">
   <dtml-tree root ...>
   ...

 > 3) In directories like /d/dd, where there is no index_html page, I do
 > _not_ want to inherit a parent's index_html page; rather, I want to set
 > up my own TOC generator for the directory.  What's the best way to do
 > this?
You put your TOC generator in these folders and call it "index_html".

 > 4) I'd like to examine the DTML namespace stack so I can understand it a
 > little more deeply.  What's the best way to do this?
You can't (at least not easily).

Read "Name lookup" in 

  <http://www.dieter.handshake.de/pyprojects/zope/book/chap3.html>



Dieter