[Zope3-dev] Package is the wrong name for the things I called "Zope Packages".

[Jim Fulton]

Jon Whitener wrote:
> 
...

> As for the X-thing / workspace / folder, I still don't understand it
> very well, frankly.  Can someone point to a real-world example that
> an old-fashioned Zope 2-er can understand (i.e. without talking about
> custom components, configurations, or service and utility instances)?

OK,


1. In Zope 2, the root folder of a site is typically full of little
    bits and pieces meant to be reused (via acquisition) in the site.
    Things like standard_html_header, logo.gif, etc.  These things are not
    content. They are bits of software meant to be used elsewhere.
    In Zope 3, we need to move these somehere else. The somewhere else
    is Xs.

    (If you use the CMF/Plone, then the root folder also has some big bits,
     tools, that are also not content. In Zope 3, these are in Xs too.)

2. In the CMF, you have skin layers. A skin layer is a folder-like thing
    where you put templates and Python scripts. It's where you manage the
    code that make up the skins.  Xs are like these.

    (A difference is that in the CMF, layers are used *both* as a place to
    hold things and as a basis for configuration. This is a mistake. Everytime
    someone installs new software, they have to redefine all of their skins
    that need to use the new provided layers.  Skins typically have tens of
    layers.  The management and use of stuff needs to be separated.  In Zope 3,
    layers and Xs are independent, so Zope 3 skins typically need only two
    layers.)

I hope this helps.

Jim

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