[Zope3-dev] Re: RFP: menu item ordering

[Garrett Smith]

Jim Fulton wrote:

> To me a view/tab (not to be confused w view components, of course)
> is used to display or directly manipulate data about an object.
> Actions are used to "do something" with the object.  Undo is more
> about the object's location.  We may be undoing operations on subobjects.
> Security grants are similar, imo.
> 
> I'll admit that it's not so clear.

The difference between a 'view' and an 'action' is a recurring issue for 
us. I've concluded that it really depends on application/use case. My 
general criteria are:

- Views are used for the most common operations on to an object.

- Actions are used for less common operations on an object.

Views and actions are interchangeable. The difference is really in how 
they're presented to the user. Views use a stronger UI motif (e.g. tabs) 
than actions (e.g. toolbar hyper links).

I think it might fall into the 'pornography' standard -- I can't define 
it but I know it when I see it :-)

As for ordering menu items, I think the most straight forward way is to 
provide a sort_order/sortOrder attribute for menuItem and just leave 
gaps for users to insert items. This is a bit inelegant, but it's also 
KISS. Developers that want more control can define a new skin and either 
redefine the menu items (assuming menu items will eventually be 
skinnable) or redefine get_menu for the appropriate objects. I wouldn't 
get too fancy with a menu ordering framework.

  -- Garrett