The various Zope flavours
Zope is not just the Zope 2 framework. A number of projects have grown on top of Zope technology. Each project targets particular use cases and audiences. This page guides you through the various Zope flavours and tells you about each project and when to use it.
Zope frameworks for developers
Zope2
Description
Zope2 is a full-featured framework for building secure web-applications. It was developed as an alternative to J2EE or Windows ASP/.NET based solutions. Zope 2 has a long history and a large legacy code base, but also an outstanding security record.
When to use?
- Maintenance of existing Zope 2 applications
- Development of new projects by an existing development team skilled in Zope 2
Competitors
J2EE, Java-based solutions, Windows ASP/.NET, Adobe Cold Fusion
The Zope Toolkit (ZTK)
N.B.: This is sometimes, incorrectly, referred to as Zope 3.
Description:
The Zope Toolkit (ZTK) is a set of libraries intended for developing web applications or web frameworks. It is maintained by the Zope Foundation contributors.
The ZTK libraries are used in various web frameworks. Three of these are managed by the Zope project: Zope 2, BlueBream and Grok. If you install one of these systems, you will get the ZTK automatically.
When to use?
- building any kind of web application based on Zope components
- individual components must be pluggable and exchangeable
Competitors
all other Python web frameworks
BlueBream
N.B.: This used to be called Zope 3.
BlueBream (formerly known as Zope 3) was an attempt to fix some architectural problems in Zope 2, which resulted in the Zope Toolkit being created. The successful aspects of Zope 3 have been in use in Zope 2 for years now, but there are still some large Zope 3 applications that predate this. The BlueBream project is the successor of the full Zope 3 application server.
When to use?
- Only if you have an existing Zope 3 application
Competitors
Zope 2, Grok
CMF
Description
The Zope 2 Content Management framework: A set of integrated CMS building blocks.
The Zope Content Management Framework provides a set of services and content objects useful for building highly dynamic, content-oriented portal sites. It is intended to be easily customizable, in terms of both the types of content used and the policies and services it provides. With its separation of concerns into component-like elements the CMF can be seen as the spiritual predecessor of the Zope Toolkit. It is used as foundation for the well-known Plone CMS as well as many custom installations throughout the Internet.
When to use?
- maintaining existing solutions built with the CMF
Zope-based applications and solutions
Plone
Description
What can Plone do for you?
- Plone can help you connect with your suppliers, partners, and clients.
- Plone is ready to deliver collaboration web sites for your team or work-group.
- Plone can help you maintain your public web site.
- Plone has many free Add-ons available that can extend its functionality.
- A Plone web site is easily maintained by non-technical personnel.
Three ways to use Plone:
- Plain Plone - Use Plone by itself for simple sites.
- Free Add-ons - Use Plone with free Add-ons that let you do more.
- Custom Add-ons - Develop custom Add-ons for Plone that meet your specialized needs.
When to use?
- enterprise-level web-based content management
- easy-to-use for editors
- barrier-free
Competitors
Microsoft Sharepoint, Alfesco, Typo 3, Joomla, Drupal
