Re: Greetings GNUe folks

[Jerry Spicklemire]

Hi Derek, 

Thanks for your reply!

Regarding:

> > The ZODB object database that underpins Zope is growing in use for ODB
> > needs independant of Zope core.
> 
> Unfortunately, I dont think its a good fit for GNUe, mainly because its
> not robost enough.  There is no reason of course someone couldnt write
> the adaptors for it and use it.

Yes, using ZODB as a plugin ODB would be a way to verify your concerns 
about robustness of ZODB. FYI, the MEMS Exchange project that Andrew 
Kuchling is working on at CNRI is using ZODB independent of Zope. This 
is the best known example, as far as I have heard, and it has proven 
to be perfectly adequate for managing large numbers of complex objects.
They are using the ZEO Engine as well which brings replication, 
load balancing, and distributed storage into the picture.

You may also want to check out the range of new storage options that 
are being developed, e.g. Berkely DB Storage, mountable storage, etc.

> > The OpenFlow project, now in CVS at SourceForge is an implementatin of
> > an international standards based workflow system. Currently implemented
> > in Zope, but as you well know, any well defined object oriented system
> > can be a great jumping off point. Since it's all essentially Python, it
> > may be easier than anyone would reasonably expect.
> 
> This is worth checking out, though it would have to be Zope independent
> as I dont think we want to add Zope as a dependency to GNUe at this
> point.

Thanks Guido for Python! I don't know about the structure of OpenFlow, 
but there's bound to be plenty of Python objects that could be re-cycled 
at the very least. The most interesting thing to me is the stated goal 
of implementing a sound workflow model over a Python based framework. 

One of the most undervalued aspects of Zope is its modular nature
whereby 
protocols and storages may be mixed and matched to serve unanticipated 
clients with very little additional code. XML-RPC is an example, which 
was plugged into Zope literally overnight. If I recall there is at least 
a demo project showing how to set up a CORBA interface to ZODB.

> 
> > The TransWarp project being developed by Phil Eby and Ty Sarna has
> > several "aspects" that suggest a synergy with the stated goals of
> > allowing a very flexible implementation of GNUe modules on various
> > clients. BTW, this project is only related to Zope in a historical
> > sense, since it is the direct descendant of the Zope specific ZPatterns
> > project, developed by the same team.
> 
> Will have to look at this.

Yes, this is a very high profile project for folks who are set on 
building flexible, powerful frameworks that actually deliver on the 
promise of software re-use and ease of integration. Phil Eby's talk 
at the Python conference opened a lot of eyes to the limitless 
possibilities for recycling and intergrating totally unrelated code 
in unexpected and useful ways, given a sound object model to build 
upon. That's why it seems so perfect for GNUe!

Thanks again!
Jerry S.