[OT] Plone

[flupke]

Hi,

i've read some user comments on Zope. As was to be expected some say
it's cool, others says it's difficult and not easy to debug.
I would use Plone as CMS for our intranet which will also be a platform
for our tools. Does plone make it even more difficult to get going or does
it
hide some of the difficulties of Zope?
I'm kind of in a dillema here, the more i read about Python, the more i like
it. As it seems mod_python/FCGI is a good combo to bring Python power
to the web but since they want a CMS and i don't have time to write one
from the ground up, i'm thinking of using Plone.
I have my doubts about Zope especially from the viewpoint
of administration. I will have to maitain the systems where it runs on also.

Any comments?
flupke

 

[F. GEIGER]

Plone is based on Zope, i.e. Plone := Zope + CMS-components.

Installation is easy (can speak only for Win2k) and I suggest that you
simply try it. I'm sure that after 2 or 3 hours you know whether or not
Plone is yours.

Cheers
Franz

 

[Tim Hoffman]

I have been using Zope now since 2000. I would recommend it highly.
If you want stuff done for you out of the box definately go with Plone.

Really I don't understand a lot of peoples complaints about Zopes
complexity. It like all products has it warts, but its a hell
of lot easier to fit in your head than Apache/Tomcat plus all the
Java stuff ;-). And you can't have all the features of Zope without
complexity.

Just my 2c worth

Rgds

Tim

 

[Peter Hansen]

Really I don't understand a lot of peoples complaints about Zopes
complexity.

I'd be interested to hear what products you have written on
Zope, and which of the available techniques (e.g. Python scripts,
Python products, DTML, TAL, or whatever else there is now)
you used to write them.

This might also tell us something about why you don't understand
the complaints of those of us who have struggled greatly with
such things in the past...

-Peter

 

[bobb]

Just 'cause it's cool doesn't mean it's not difficult... I think (thanks to
tracebacks) it's very easy to debug, though.
Zope w/ Plone, by itself CAN be a slam dunk (like Franz Says above), but
extending it takes knowledge.
Zope has a long learning first gear, so to speak.
There's alot that CAN go on. Alot of people have written products that sit
on top of it.
The biggest problem I find is the lack of documentation IMO.
The community is the best, though.
You don't need CMS for content management. It all depends on what you want
to do.

Zope is a framework. You still have to build the house, though. Plone
takes care of alot of that out of the box.
You may not need Plone, you may not even need zope CMS, either.

bobb

 

[flupke]

Zope is a framework. You still have to build the house, though.
Plone takes care of alot of that out of the box.
You may not need Plone, you may not even need zope CMS, either.

bobb

Well, the users need to be able to manage their own pages with an
internal editor, version control, workflow (qa,publish) and so on.
So if i would have to program that myself, it would take me longer
than i have time for.

flupke

 

[Josef Meile]

Well, the users need to be able to manage their own pages with an
internal editor, version control, workflow (qa,publish) and so on.
So if i would have to program that myself, it would take me longer
than i have time for.

Well, you could also consider only CMF (CMS on which Plone is based)
or Silva, which doesn't have many products or documentation like CMF
or Plone, but it offers a nice way to publish web pages without having
to know html and it offers also a nice version/workflow control.

Regards,
Josef

 

[Lonnie Princehouse]

Zope has some very powerful features (ZODB, CMF, etc.), but its
documentation - particularly from the developer viewpoint - is
INSANELY FRUSTRATING. After writing a few simple products, I've found
that it's often easier for simple applications to take a
from-the-ground-up approach with twisted.web.