Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Why shouldn't I use Core Session Tracking + Login Manager? XUF serves a different set of users to the combination above. XUF aims to be a simple out of the box solution. Login Manager allows for very complex authorisation schemes that can query multiple user sources. We don't do that.
2. Why use XUF at all? In its simplest configuration, XUF provides the same functionality as the standard User Folder, but, is more secure. Passwords are stored encrypted, which is not the case for the standard User Folder. So even if you don't want to set properties on users, or any membership facilities, there is a benefit to running XUF.
3. Do I have to have all this other stuff? No. The only thing you need to enable is authentication. There is a null property source, and a null membership source. Everything other than authentication is optional.
4. Can I use it as a root folder? Some people have reported success in doing so. We don't recommend it for various reasons. The main one is that the internal Zope API can change without warning, which could break XUF and lock you out of your Zope. This can happen with any User Folder product. We recommend you look at VHM and other Site Access methods to allow you to store your main site in a sub-folder.
5. When will XUF support authentication against XYZ system? That depends. First the active developers need to have an interest in it, and more importantly they need to be able to test it. Writing your authentication method is very simple, so if you understand what you want to authenticate against, and know some python you could write one in an hour. You can also use the usAuthSource to write one using PythonScripts, ExternalMethods, DTML, or any other callable method that Zope supports.
6. I wrote this cool authentication source can I get it into the main distribution? Yes and No. If your authentication is Open Source, and has a compatible license with XUF, and doesn't require any external libraries, odds are it'll go into the main distribution. If it depends on external libraries, it's possible it can conditionally go into the main distribution. The nice thing about XUF is that Authentication, Property, and Membership sources are all packagable as independent products, so you can distribute it as a standalone product, and it'll work (without having to have the code drop into the XUF directory either).
7. Is XUF going to be part of the Core Zope? No idea. At the moment (0.8.0) XUF is probably not at a level that Zope Corporation would consider mature enough for core inclusion anyway.
8. What's with the Management Screens? It's a joke on the Zope World.
9. But they're really ugly I want to change them. That's fine, you do that, that's the point.
10. Can I send you patches to put them back to standard Management Screens? You can put patches into the tracker at Source Forge if you want to.
11. HELP!!!! I tried to install XUF as my root folder, without reading the FAQ, or really knowing what I'm doing, and now I'm hosed!!! That's a shame.
12. Will XUF work with ZEO? Unknown. However, it's almost certain that in its current form credential caching will not work across ZEO -- you will get a seperate User Cache for each Zope Client (which isn't really all that bad). However, it means that if you want to use Session Tracking, you need to lock users to one particular server. Most commercial Load Balancers do this for you anyhow. A persistent cache will form part of an upcoming release which will allow all of this to work transparently across ZEO farms.