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version 931, Sat Mar 1 21:31:48 2003 UTC version 963, Fri Apr 4 21:23:31 2003 UTC
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  Code quality varies between modules, from "beta" to "experimental   Code quality varies between modules, from "beta" to "experimental
  pre-alpha".  :)   pre-alpha".  :)
   
   
  Package Description   Package Description
   
     PEAK is the "Python Enterprise Application Kit". If you develop      PEAK is the "Python Enterprise Application Kit". If you develop
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     on building your application.      on building your application.
   
     PEAK tools can be used with other "Python Enterprise" frameworks such as      PEAK tools can be used with other "Python Enterprise" frameworks such as
     Zope and the Python DBAPI to construct web-based, GUI, or command-line      Zope, Twisted, and the Python DBAPI to construct web-based, GUI, or
     applications, interacting with any kind of storage, or with no storage      command-line applications, interacting with any kind of storage, or with
     at all.  Whatever the application type, PEAK can help you put it together.      no storage at all.  Whatever the application type, PEAK can help you put
       it together.
   
    Package Features
   
       As of version 0.5a1, PEAK features include:
   
       * A component binding framework that makes it easy to parameterize
         components and thus more easily combine and "wire" them together.
   
       * A comprehensive configuration framework that allows accessing
         "utilities" and "configuration properties" in context.  Properties
         and utilities can be loaded or computed on demand, supplied by rules,
         defined in configuration files or code, in a supplied or custom
         format.  Properties and utilities are contextual and can be safely
         acquired from parent/context components automatically.  System-wide
         (per Python interpreter), application-wide (per running application
         within an interpreter) and per-component configuration settings
         are available.
   
       * Naming system/framework that's midway between J2EE's JNDI and CORBA's
         cosNaming in features, but much easier to use and extend than either
         of those systems.
   
       * A storage management and persistence system, including:
   
           - Atomic, multi-database transactions with two-phase commit.
   
           - "Data Manager" class framework for persistence management, that
             allows you to separate business logic from storage implementation.
             If you can write a few simple methods like "load" and "save" for
             a given object type and storage approach, you can create your own
             "DM" components.  You can think of a DM as an advanced form of
             Python "shelve", that supports references to other objects,
             transactions, arbitrary back-end storages, and caching.
   
           - "Stackable" data managers: one DM might serialize a set of objects
             to XML, which could then be stored in a database record by another
             DM, and then the database record might be implemented via a DM
             that writes to disk files!  Each DM only needs to know how to
             manipulate objects offered by the next-level DM, not the details
             of the next DM's implementation, so all the DM's are potentially
             replaceable with alternate storage mechanisms.
   
           - RDBMS and LDAP connection framework based on the Python DBAPI,
             that handles data type conversions (via the configuration
             framework) and seamlessly integrates with the transaction system
             and naming services framework.  DB Connections can be accessed
             by name or URL, and bound as default collaborators or utilities
             for access by other application components.
   
       * CASE/modelling tools: PEAK includes APIs to read object
         models created in the XML-based XMI format.  Many open-source and
         commercial modelling tools support XMI, inlcuding Argo/Poseidon and
         MagicDraw UML.  PEAK includes pre-built support for UML versions 1.3
         through 1.5, CWM 1.1, and MOF 1.3.1, using XMI versions 1.0 through 1.2.
         Also included, a MOF->Python code generator, which was used to generate
         the UML and CWM support, and which you can use to generate support for
         other modelling languages based on the MOF.
   
         For the specifications of XMI, MOF, CWM, and UML, visit:
         http://www.omg.org/technology/documents/modeling_spec_catalog.htm
   
       * A domain modelling framework for creating "business object models"
         with unidirectional and bidirectional associations, generated
         getters/setters and validators for fields, etc., and all necessary
         persistence support for use with the PEAK storage framework.
   
         The business object framework supplies structural metadata about
         classes built with it, so you can query a class for its fields and
         links, and their names, types, etc.  This can be useful for
         implementing model-driven storage or user interfaces.  And the
         metadata is aligned with the MOF, so generating MOF, UML, or CWM
         from PEAK models (and vice versa) is possible (although
         not yet implemented for anything but MOF->PEAK).
   
       * AOP and SOP: PEAK allows you to separate concerns as modules, then
         combine the modules via a "module inheritance" technique.  This
         lets you define a generated business object model as a
         "structural" concern, and then combine it with a "behavioral"
         concern.  This is as simple as writing classes that just contain
         what you want to add, and then telling PEAK that your new module
         "inherits" from the generated module.
   
   
    Known Issues and Risks of this Version
   
      This is ALPHA software.  Although much of the system is extensively
      tested by a battery of automated tests, it may contain bugs, especially
      in areas not covered by the test suites.  Also, many system interfaces
      are still subject to change.
   
      PEAK includes early copies of Zope X3's 'Interface' and 'Persistence'
      packages, which have since changed names in their official releases,
      and have had - and will continue to have - significant implementation
      changes.  Complete interoperability with Zope X3 is therefore currently
      at risk.  We are waiting until the pending refactoring of Zope 3's
      interface package is complete before upgrading from 'Interface' to
      'zope.interface'.  Also, the ZODB persistence package is undergoing
      some changes that may make it less useful for PEAK, and we may be
      forced to "fork" and/or create our own C-level persistence support.
      This may be clearer once ZODB4 and/or Zope 3 reach their next release.
   
      Documentation at present is limited, and scattered.  The principal
      documentation is an API reference generated from the code's lengthy
      docstrings (which usually contain motivating examples for using that
      class, method, or function).  The mailing list and its archives
      provide a wealth of information on actual usage scenarios,
      recommended approaches, etc.  There is also the beginnings of a
      tutorial on using the component binding package.
   
   
  Third-Party Software Included with PEAK   Third-Party Software Included with PEAK
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  Installation Instructions   Installation Instructions
   
     Please see the INSTALL.txt file.      Please see the INSTALL.txt file.
   
   


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