[Zope3-dev] How does Zope.Configuration work?

[R. David Murray]

On Wed, 27 Mar 2002, Lennart Regebro wrote:
> >    <include package=".JobBoardEx" file="jobboard.zcml"/>
> >
> This is dangerously close to programming. :-)

True in some sense, false in some others <grin>.  xml configuration
is becomming more common these days.  An end user wouldn't want
to touch it, but a site admin probably deals with this kind of
thing all the time.  Apache, after all, is *not* through the
we configurable.

> It should be enough to put the JobBoardEx package in the ZopeProducts
> directory, and *at the most* enabling it by checking a checkbox in the
> control panel (although IMO that checking should default to being on for new
> products).

This is a nice layer above the zcml.  It has been suggested that
someone start working on this <grin>.

> I'm viewing the products configuration file as a part of the product, and I
> don't expect site builders to ever touch anything inside it, and I don't
> understand why they would. I don't have any problem with applying the "don't
> touch what you don't understand" on the configuration files too.

Not touching the zcml that comes with the delivered product is
one of the design goals of the configuration system.  The idea
is that an application integrator (site builder has also been
suggested as a name for this role) can tweak the product's configuration
(substitute custom Views, etc) using configuration files external
to the product.  (I'm not sure exactly how this works in practice.)

--RDM