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Welcome to the ZPatterns Documentation/Discussion Wiki!

ZPatterns is an application development framework which provides tools and components for rapid creation and painless evolution of Zope applications. It does this by providing robust components based on the RIPPModel design patterns for Zope application development. These components, in turn, are implemented using a variety of newfangled computer science ideas like OpenImplementations, DemetersLaw, MethodDelegation, and so on.

Of course, you don't need to know much about any of these ideas to use the components, and you definitely don't need to know how they actually work "under the hood". But, if you'd like to adapt the technology for other purposes, they are very cool to know about. This Wiki is for the documentation and discussion of both the components and the underlying technologies.

Some starting points:

Introductory Material
- ZPatternGoals - Why are we here?
- DataSkinsOverview - The "Secret Ingredient"
- DropZoneExample - a motivational example for ZPatterns' features
- RacksAndSpecialistsSimplified
Theory/Background
- AspectFrameworks - Building an application by weaving aspects together
- PlugInsIntroduction - Building extensible OpenImplementations in Zope
Internal API's/object model notes
- DynamicDataObjects - Building database-independent applications using:
  - DataSkins (such as RackMountables) which can have data and behavior provided by...
  - DataManagers (such as Racks and Customizers), which provide DataSkins with DataPlugIns such as:
    - AttributeProviders and SheetProviders
    - IndexingAgents and RuleAgents
    - SkinScript methods
    - HowTriggersWork - a rare glimpse inside the ZPatterns event model
- Specialists - The focal point of developing ZPatterns-based applications.
- Irc chat 20000/7/14 (Q&A at various levels of detail, includes notes on current triggers/providers)
  - SummarizedVersion of the chat (incomplete)