[plug] Any Zope users out there?

[Michael Hunt]

Bret wrote:
> Can someone please explain (comparatively) the roles of Zope,
> Python, Tcl, Perl,
> PHP, etc, in web pages?

These are all comparatively speaking web server modules that allow the
author of the pages to access various system information or pull info from
databases. Python, Perl and TCL are actually programming/scripting languages
that are actually doing the hard work, with Zope and apache modules allowing
for the whole lot to happen.

PHP is the exception is suppose as it is both a web interface and has its
own syntax.

But programming was never my speciality. Writing inodes to a Hard disk with
a magnet now that requires a skill I possess. (Data does not appear in any
useful form though *grin*)

> I believe that I have a little understanding of the role of PHP;
> in that it can
> extract system information, and information from databases, which
> information
> can then be displayed using HTML, in web pages. Also, from what I
> understand,
> PHP requires that the web server be PHP enabled, and does all the
> processing on
> the web server, and does not require a browser to be PHP enabled, whereas
> JavaScript does the processing at the client end, and requires
> the browser to be
> JavaScript enabled.

True but you can get something similar to "modules" for Java. I think they
are called servlets and they run on the server side and can be made to only
spit out html.

Of course Java allows you to do graphical stuff with swing (and I think the
graphical side of things is the appeal with TCL) so the above is not always
the case.

> However, I do not understand how all the other applications and scripting
> languages relate to each other, or compare with each other.
>
> I am not sure whether this is sufficiently involved to make it
> require either a
> tutorial session, or otherwise a session at the UCC meetings, but
> I would like
> to know the comparative roles and relationships.
>
> Also, out of interest, I understand that Cold Fusion is supposed
> to be ported to
> Linux in the not to distant future. I have just checked the
> allaire.com web
> site, and noticed that Cold Fusion is available for HP-UX and Solaris.

I certainly would be interested in a "prac/tut" on such technologies. As I
tried to state before it is the time factor that is causing me grief !!!!

The cold fusion port is very interesting but I don't think it is going to be
"Open Source". I think there already is a lot of investment in Cold Fusion
technology and while I praise the fact that Allaire has seen fit to port it
to Linux, I don't believe it is going to be open source. So I think the
opposition is going to be stiff on the Zope front for them !!!!