Where Zope leads, Python follows. So it has been for a decade, and the trend doesnât show any signs of st- ping. Whatever the latest buzzwordâbe it RESTful web programming, st- dardized interfaces, pluggable components, or practical restricted-execution environments, Zope has quietly led the way, delivering the goods years ahead of anyone else. Not just as technology concepts, but shipped and working in paying clientsâ o?ces. And yet, strangely, Zopeâs role in the ongoing development of Python is little-known and little-appreciated among Python developers. It is f- quently the case that some new and much-touted development in the Python communityâespecially in the web application and object security arenasâis something that Zope has already been doing for many years. Iâm somewhat ba?ed by this peculiar blind spot in the Python com- nity. Even when I tell people that Zopeâs already done something that theyâre working on, the response is usually a blank look, or no response at all. Itâs almost as if the innovations of Zope donât really exist until somebody else reinvents them. In fact, the pattern has led me coin this little saying: Those who do not study Zope, are condemned to reinvent it. It doesnât matter if you donât plan to actually use Zope. Frankly, I havenât used Zope in years. But the lessons I learned from Zope, I use constantly. Studying ZopeâZope 3 in particularâwill make you a better programmer, without question.
