[Zope3-dev] Rid the term 'product'

[Jim Fulton]

I'm OK with picking a different term for this.  Picking a
different term may be tricky.  I'm not so crazy about "extension",
as that has has a specific Python meaning and, after all, applications
aren't really extensions. I have an open mind though,

Some things to note:

- We have a similar problem for Python.  We don't have a good name
   for the things we distribute with distutils.  Distutils defines the
   term "module distribution", which I've never heard anyone use.

   Most people use the term "package", but then get confused about
   whether they are talking about Python packages or things we distribute.

   (PEP 262 uses the term "distribution", except in it's title. ;)

   Fred and I have struggled with this a lot in talking about his work.
   (We try to use various qualifications of "distribution", but it never seems
   to stick.)

- My intuition is that it is best to use a "name", rather than a "word",
   so as not to get confused about alternate meanings.  A word that we don't
   use much would be OK too.  For example, we've talked about using the term
   "bundle" in the past.

Jim

Philipp von Weitershausen wrote:
> Hello,
> 
> I have a small proposal which is too untechnicnal to deserve a wiki page:
> 
> Zope 3 is much more pythonic when it comes to extensions. They needn't 
> be in special places anymore and fulfill weird packaging rules. We all 
> know that that is a Good Thing. So, when we have used the term 'product' 
> up till now in Zope 3 development, we were basically applying the term 
> we have used in Zope 2 to something that wasn't even a product in a Zope 
> 2 kind of sense.
> 
> Not only implies the term 'products' a placeful, Zope-specific python 
> package in that sense. It also implies much more to the Zope newbie 
> who's not familiar with Zope 2 jargon. I always caught myself talking to 
> non-Zopistas about how easy it is to install new products in Zope 2 and 
> only found out by the look on the other person's face that I had 
> forgotten to define the term 'product' as an extension or plug-in. I've 
> frequently read comments and questions about exactly that.
> 
> The fact that a) Zope 3 extensions are not 'products' in a Zope 2 kind 
> of sense and b) we're abusing a business term for a piece of software 
> makes me suggest to rid the term 'product' once and for all. This is not 
> hard to do now that zopeproducts and zope.products are both dead. We 
> only have to change 'products.zcml' and the 'products' directory in an 
> instance. I propose to call them 'extensions.zcml' and 'extensions' 
> (btw, I think having the directory makes the zcml file obsolete).
> 
> We will also have to update documentation. A simple grep should do that. 
> Whenever we write new documentation, we should be careful not to fall 
> back to Zope 2 patterns.



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