[Zope-CMF] Multilingual site with CMF/Plone?

sean.upton@uniontrib.com sean.upton@uniontrib.com
Tue, 11 Feb 2003 17:03:17 -0800


Erik writes:
>>>>>
It seems to me, that people aren't aware that Plone is doing many things 
different than default CMF, and therefor expects that any product that 
works with CMF, also works with Plone, without any changes made to the 
product.
>>>>>

CMFDefault != 'default CMF'
'CMFDefault way' != 'CMF Way'

CMFDefault is a bundled example.  There is no 'CMF Way.'  The idea that
there is such a thing as a 'standard CMF product' is a lie.  The CMF is NOT,
NOT, NOT an application; it is a framework. Sarcastically asking if Plone is
a bugfix to the CMF misses the point.  Plone is just a better app-level
realization of the CMF than CMFDefault, and is a better starting point for
all but the most custom applications.  Plone and CMFDefault are extensible
in different ways than CMFCore (and the parts of CMFDefault that should be
in CMFCore).

The notion of mutual exclusivity is also a smoke-screen. I'm still trying to
see what the big deal is that couldn't simply be addressed in code that
works for both Plone and CMFDefault?  Skin display issues?  Create multiple
skins.  Workflow issues?  Support multiple workflows, and adapt your skins
to adjust to the differences.  Installation issues?  There has never been an
official way to install new functionality into CMF sites; again, adjust or
workaround. Come on, we are talking minor annoyances here, not incompatible
paradigms or platform decisions.

Plone really isn't that different, other than what it adds to the equation,
and most developers targeting Plone attempt to make sure that their product
works in CMFDefault too.  IMHO, most of the exciting community inertia for
CMF development is happening in the Plone community, and its really hard to
ignore the fact that most 3rd party CMF products (i.e. stuff in the
Collective) target Plone as a first-class platform - not a bastard
second-cousin.

Sean