[Web-SIG] Re: Just lost another one to Rails

[Peter Hunt]

Ruby on Rails, ColdFusion, ASP.NET <http://ASP.NET>, and to a lesser degree 
PHP and ASP share two important traits that no Python web framework 
currently embraces.


 First, when one writes an application for these frameworks, one spends the 
vast majority of time writing code for their application, writing the logic 
that their application specifically requires. Contrast this with J2EE or 
Zope. In writing a Zope 3 application, for example, one must design objects 
that fit the Zope interface requirements, write a couple of XML 
configuration files to document the object, and figure out the entire API 
all at once. Contrast this to PHP, where one spends time simply writing what 
their application needs to do, and does not need to write a single ambiguous 
XML configuration file. This extends to deployment. In a J2EE application, 
you need to deploy a WAR, while with PHP, you just need to drop a few .php 
files on the server and it works.


 Second, these frameworks have "batteries included". Rails is a "full-stack" 
framework, which, according to its API documentation, "includes everything 
needed to create database-backed web-applications according to the 
Model-View-Control pattern of separation." It handles everything from form 
validation to database integration to sending email. No Python framework 
currently embodies such functionality with such good integration.


 I really want to be able to say that we should all come together to improve 
Zope, the "king" of Python web frameworks . . . but I can't say that. Zope 2 
was a mess, and Zope 3 is so overengineered that it's painful to write code. 
The ideal framework should allow the programmer to be organized, while still 
allowing a monkey to write Hello, World.

My two cents . . . what's yours?
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