[Zope3-dev] ZopeTop (the new Zope3 replacement for ZMI)

[Fred L. Drake, Jr.]

Gary Poster writes:
 > So, if you want a non-frame-based tree, loading partial tree XML behind the 
 > scenes (without page loads) *is* your option, IMO.
 > 
 > Let's hypothetically say we've settled on these requirements:
 > 
 >   1) Management interface does not use frames
 >   2) works on as many browsers as possible
 >   3) includes a folder tree

Separation of the tree view and the rest of the management intereface
is about the only kind of frame use I'd consider reasonable.  I'd
expect that changes to the two frames be independent wherever possible
(certainly with tree operations like expand/collapse) to avoid bad
interactions with forms in the non-tree view.  Using frames with a
visible separator bar makes changing the width of the tree possible;
this is a valuable feature.

 > If I were required to build this interface and those three
 > requirements given to me, I would *strongly* urge that the folder
 > tree be built as a Flash 5 widget.  You don't have to deal with the
 > conflicting JS DOMs (even today a pain for unusual stuff), you get
 > *more* potential audience (I don't know if Opera or Konqueror can
 > load XML behind the scenes natively without a pageload, but I know
 > that NS4 can't; I believe all three can use Flash 5),

I'm not convinced that Flash is stable on Linux, but very few sites I
visit ever use the stuff.  That's pretty evil stuff.


  -Fred

-- 
Fred L. Drake, Jr.  <fdrake at acm.org>
PythonLabs at Zope Corporation