Is there a database in Zope?

[Patrick Phalen]

[NH, on Mon, 06 Dec 1999]

:: I am new to Python and Zope, so please don't flame me.

I'm afraid you'll have to commit some act more egregious than being new
to get flamed here. ;)

:: I have been assigned to create a website for the counceling office
:: at my high school.  I want to use either Zope or PHP. (Which is
:: better?

Better for you? Don't know enough about your situation to comment.
Zope has a steeper learning curve, but is much more powerful and
flexible than probably *any* other solution available, free or
otherwise. With Zope, you get a built-in web server, object store,
security model, reporting language, through-the-web content
management system, not to mention the ability to extend it easily with
Python. It offers you much more "out of the box" than PHP.

:: Anyways, what I need to know is if there is a database with in Zope where I
:: can store data or variables for an extended period of time.  This data would
:: need to survive rebooting.  Something like SQL inside Zope?  I know there is
:: the ZODB, but I am not sure of its capabilities.

ZODB provides long-term storage and is very easy to use; it could be
perfect for your needs. Its object model is a better fit than the
Relational or Object-Relational for a lot of web content. If you later
feel you have a need to interact with a RDBMS, Zope has that ability
too.

:: What I need to do is have students fill out a form that the councelor can
:: view at a later time.  I will be dealing with many students.  The server is
:: not that good, so I need to keep everything simple.  I am not sure if I'd be
:: able to get a SQL server together.

>From your description, I'd be surprised if you need anything other than
ZODB to fulfill your needs.