[Zope-PTK] PTK Workflow

Scott Burton scott@launchpoint.net
Sat, 26 Aug 2000 23:33:43 -0700


Hello Fellow Zopers and PTK'ers. I would add some comments and ideas about
workflow to the readers of the PTK list. So here we go.

First of all, design. As a designer and programmer, I know both sides of the
fence. I know what I like to see when I am designing and what I like when I
am developing. I am a true believer in abstraction of form from function.
Especially from a design sense. This also adds room for extensibility. I
have started a Wiki here http://www.zope.org/WikiCentral/ZFWiki  about it
and a dev.zope.org page Wiki on the subject here
http://dev.zope.org/Wikis/DevSite/Proposals/ZopeTemplateObjects. Feel free
to comment.

To make a long story short, the first part is templating. Where instead of
using a header and footer, you use a plain html template with a <dtml-var
body> in the area where you want the content to render. Content being an
object. There is a product called ZopeFish that currently accomplishes this
see: http://zopefish.weblogs.com. As well as Pike-editing capabilities of
the content. Pike is an outline which opens and saves the content via
xmlrpc. An open remote procedure protocol similar to SOAP and WebDav. A
little self promotion, to see this in work go to www.zopesite.com. You can
sign up to see how this works. Believe me it makes life easier when
designing a Zope site.

Another exciting thing that David Brown(developer of ZF) is doing is using
an icon-based outline to edit your site. Using the xmlrpc standard to
dynamically load and save your data. This is truly exciting and powerful. To
me, this is the most simple and efficient way to manage content. David Brown
has some screenshots of it in use and links to the download and RU site.
This product is developed by Userland but can be implemented on any TCP/IP
based app. I bet Dreamweaver could be written to do something similar.

This is a very simple workflow and the interface can be customized to look
like nearly anything. A windows-type interface, a Mac interface, a Next/OSX
interface, you name it. What about tying a dtml debugger or python debugger
into it? Where you can test your syntax and logic before you send it to the
server. It can be done. Another plus is editing dtml in an outline. It is
clean, and simple. You can nest loops, collapse or expand areas. It is like
working on a Powerpoint presentation in outline mode. Compared to editing
via a browser, this is a major convenience.

The reason why I am writing this is because I want members of the community
to know this is available. I personally think if this were integrated into
the PTK somehow, it would add some needed usability changes to Zope.(not
that Zope isn't usable). I have used many content management systems and the
PTK could use something like this integrated into its base.

Everyone I have worked with seems to want two major features in a content
management system. A simple yet extensible workflow and ease of use. This
gives you both.

Scott Burton