Pillars of Python: Zope 2 Web framework

Zope 2 is a member of a growing family of Python-based Web development frameworks that began with the original Zope -- Z Object Publishing Environment -- in 1995, an object-based application server originally called Principia. The Zope family tree has grown to include Zope 2, Zope 3, variants such as Grok and BFG, and several well-known Zope-based Web applications such as Plone, Launchpad, and Silva.

One of the longest-established Web server frameworks in any language, the original Zope is arguably the application that put Python on the map. Zope 2's proud ancestry sits at the heart of numerous successful Web applications, and some of its technology can be found in other Python-based Web frameworks. For example, the BFG Web framework has become the Pyramid Web framework, now part of the Pylons project. (See the Pylons site for more details.)

Zope 2 is compatible with the 2.x version of Python; which precise version depends on the version of Zope 2. The current released version of Zope 2 -- version 2.13, the one I tested -- is compatible with Python 2.6 or 2.7. Zope 2 will run in just about any Web server that supports the proper Python version, though the Zope 2 framework's integrated Web server, ZServer, is recommended by the Zope 2 engineers.

Installation of Zope 2 is easy, provided you follow the instructions carefully. The Web framework has numerous dependencies, but the installation handles them all. And because the database is included, no database configuration is needed. I installed Zope 2 in a virtual Python environment, which has the advantage of isolating the installation from other Python application installations on the same system.

Zope 2 applications can scale almost linearly using the Zope Enterprise Objects (ZEO) clustering solution. ZEO lets you deploy a Zope 2 application across many physical computers without needing to change much (if any) of your application code.

Test Center Scorecard
	40%	25%	25%	10%
Zope 2.13	9	8	8	8	8.4 Very Good