[Zope3-dev] Re: Separate presentation packages

[Philipp von Weitershausen]

Philipp von Weitershausen wrote:
> <thinking-out-loud-mode>
> 
> What if we had
> 
> - zope.app   -- containing flat packages with application code
> - zope.browser   -- containing just as flat packages with browser code
> - zope.webdav   -- ........ with WebDAV presentation
> 
> Hmm... What about a different top-level package?
> 
> - zope.app  -- containing flat packages with application code
> - zopepresent.browser  -- contains flat browser packages
> - zopepresent.webdav  -- contains flat WebDAV packages
> 
> Or a different top-level package for each presentation type?
> 
> - zope.app  -- containing flat packages with application code
> - zopebrowser  -- contains flat browser packages
> - zopedav  -- contains flat WebDAV packages
> 
> </thinking-out-loud-mode>

I took this crazy idea one step further: Why not make zope.app a 
top-level package as well?

Consider:

- zope      -- contains general application code, just like now
- zopeapp    -- like zope.app above (flat packages, etc.)
- zopebrowser -- like above
- ...

I really like this one. And it'll make packaging easy, too. Don't want 
the Zope application server? Don't install zopeapp! Don't want browser 
code? Don't install zopebrowser!

Using several top-level packages has the following advantages:

- The package hierarchy is not deep at all. In fact, it'll be even less 
deep than with zope.app.foo and zope.app.foo_browser...

- Browser and application packages are not in the same container 
package. That'll help to make the pluggability of presentation code 
quite clear.

- It'll make source code navigation pretty easy. You have zope.XYZ or 
zopeapp.XYZ and need to find its browser views? Well, simply look in 
zopebrowser.XYZ. Pretty easy to find, I think.


I see the following disadvantages:

- The top-level package namespaces will be bloated. This danger is 
limited, though, since we can safely assume than other people will not 
make packages starting with the 'zope' prefix.

- The "core" of Zope (whatever that is) will be spread over several 
top-level packages. People might consider this unaesthetic.



Having-found-my-own-idea-after-all-ly,

Philipp