[Zope3-dev] Number of languages in Zope 3

[Steve Alexander]

>> The OpenACS framework requires knowledge of the configuration 
>> languages of Oracle or Postgres, of AOLserver and of your chosen RDBMS.
> 
> When do "Oracle or Postgres" and "your chosen RDBMS" not equate to the 
> same thing? 

I'll restate that more clearly:

The OpenACS framework requires knowledge of

  * the configuration languages of Oracle or Postgres
  * the configuration language of AOLserver
  * the database language of your chosen RDBMS
    (Oracle and PostgreSQL have slightly different dialects of SQL)


>> If you want to use stored procedures, you have the choice of all the 
>> languages that PostgreSQL allows you to use.
> 
> Yes, but you can add these to the six currently needed in Zope 3 if you 
> want to use PostGres in Zope 3 as stored procedures aren't _required_ by 
> either framework...

Zope 3 doesn't require PostgreSQL or any other RDBMS.


>> You'll need to use Tcl, as that's what AOLserver and OpenACS use. 
>> You'll need to use SQL. It is common to extend AOLserver in C. 
>  
> What evidence do you have to support that hypothesis?

I skimmed through the well-written documentation about how to extend 
AOLserver in C. It is available from their web site.
If it were not common to extend AOLserver in C, there would not be such 
documentation.


>> AOLserver has its own templating system.
> 
> So, I count needing to know TCL and AOL's templating system.

And C and SQL.

> The SQL issue raises a good poit for me: all six of the languages needed 
> for Zope 3 will be new ad never before seen languages for the majority 
> of people who use them.

The TAL syntax is very similar to the current ASP syntax.
Python looks pretty much like pseudocode.


> As far as I can see, you only need to know one config language, one 
> scripting language and one templating language to make pretty full use 
> of the OpenACS setup you describe...

You need to be able to configure your RDBMS, configure AOLserver, use 
Tcl, and a templating language, and know SQL.

That's two configuration languages, a programming/scripting language, a 
templating language and a database query language. Oh, and to make 
"full" use of it, C.

You originally asked me:

 > What examples are there of successful frameworks that require the
 > knowledge of two config languages, two templating languages and a
 > scripting language?

I have given you an example that requires two configuration languages, a 
templating language, a database query language, a scripting language and 
a programming language.

You questioned whether certain of these languages are needed to use the 
system. I replied that to use OpenACS "completely", you'll need to know 
all of these. At the start of this thread, you asked:

 > What can be doen to reduce the number of languages necessary to know
 > in order to use Zope 3 completely?

I think we have established that it takes knowledge of an equivalent 
number of languages to use OpenACS "completely" as it takes to use Zope 
3 "completely".

--
Steve Alexander