Unigroup's February 2005 Meeting Announcement

Topic:
ZOPE - An Open Source Web Development Framework

Speakers:
Rob Page,
Zope Corporation

Date:
Thursday, February 17th, 2005      (3rd Thursday)

Location:
Alliance for Downtown NY Conference Facility
Downtown Center
104 Washington Street
South West Corner of Wall Street Area
Downtown, New York City
** Please RSVP (not mandatory) **

Time:
6:15 PM - 6:25 PM Registration
6:25 PM - 6:45 PM Ask the Wizard, Questions, Answers and Current Events
6:45 PM - 7:00 PM Unigroup Business and Announcements
7:00 PM - 9:30 PM Main Presentation


MEETING INTRODUCTION

We are finally holding our meeting on Web Development and Zope! This meeting was supposed to be a followup our meeting on Python (March 2003), but it wound up being delayed for various reasons and due to various events (including things like the Solaris 10 launch). During this time, our friends at Zope Corporation have been patient, and they have been waiting for the chance to present Zope to Unigroup. We do appreciate their support!

I've called Zope a "Web Development Framework", but from what I've read, it may be much more than this (see below). Major corporations are using Zope to build web sites and bring content to market. One such example is Computer Associates... see their press release about CA and Zope Corp: http://www3.ca.com/Press/PressRelease.asp?CID=59297.

Also note that we expect to have CA present to Unigroup, later in the year, and they were also invited to participate in this week's Zope meeting.


   SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS:
   ---------------------

   To REGISTER for this event, please RSVP by using the Unigroup
   Registration Page:
       Unigroup Registration Page.
   This will allow us to automate the registration process.
   (Registration will also add you to our mailing list.)

   Please RSVP by Wednesday, 19-JAN-2005, so we can have the proper
   amount of food available.

   Note: RSVP is not mandatory for this location, but it does help
         us to properly plan the meeting (food, drinks, handouts,
         seating, etc.).

   Please continue to check the Unigroup web site and THIS page,
   for any last minute updates concerning this meeting.  If you
   registered for this meeting, please check your email for any
   last minute announcements as the meeting approaches.


DIRECTIONS

    Alliance for Downtown NY Conference Facility
    Downtown Center
    104 Washington Street
    Wall Street Area
    Downtown, New York City
This building is located on the West side of the street, the second building north of Rector Street. Cross Streets: Between Rector (South) and Carlisle (North) Streets. Enter the lobby, and tell the guard at the desk that you are heading for Unigroup. You will be directed to the meeting room.

Our meeting location is in the Lower West Corner of Downtown, North of the Battery Tunnel, South of the Downtown Hotel, East of West Street, and West of Greenwich Street. Walking West on Rector Street from Broadway, you pass Church, Greenwich then Washington Streets.

There are multiple blocks of parking lots right there, between Washington and Greenwich Streets, starting at the Battery Tunnel and extending North for a number of blocks.

Nearest mass transit stations, in order, are the '1/9' (Rector Street), 'R/W' (Rector Street) and the '4/5' (Wall Street).


PRESENTATION OUTLINE

This month's meeting will be a presentation on ZOPE:

The Zope Software System:
(Extracted from http://www.zope.com/Corporate/CompanyProfile.html)

Zope is a unique software system: a high-performance application server, a web server, and a content management system. It is a complete, self-contained solution, that includes a robust, scalable object database, web services architecture, and powerful programming capabilities. It is designed for customization and extensibility. Its components integrate tightly with a wide range of leading web server and database systems. Zope promotes rapid creation and deployment of complex applications, totally manageable through a web interface. All of this, and complete open source access, are provided without cost. There are no licensing or runtime fees for the software.

What Is Zope?
(Extracted from http://www.zope.org/WhatIsZope)

Zope is an open source web application server primarily written in the Python programming language. It features a transactional object database which can store not only content and custom data, but also dynamic HTML templates, scripts, a search engine, and relational database (RDBMS) connections and code. It features a strong through-the-web development model, allowing you to update your web site from anywhere in the world. To allow for this, Zope also features a tightly integrated security model. Built around the concept of "safe delegation of control", Zope's security architecture also allows you to turn control over parts of a web site to other organizations or individuals. The transactional model applies not only to Zope's object database, but to many relational database connectors as well, allowing for strong data integrity. This transaction model happens automatically, ensuring that all data is successfully stored in connected data sources by the time a response is returned to a web browser or other client.

There are numerous products (plug-in Zope components) available for download to extend the basic set of site building tools. These products include new content objects; relational database and other external data source connectors; advanced content management tools; and full applications for e-commerce, content and document management, or bug and issue tracking. Zope includes its own HTTP, FTP, WebDAV, and XML-RPC serving capabilities, but can also be used with the Apache or other web servers.

Web Resources:
--------------

   Zope Corporation
     http://www.zope.com

   Zope Open Source Community
     http://www.zope.com/Services/Community.html

   Zope Community
     http://www.zope.org

   Zope Developer Community
     http://dev.zope.org

   Zope Powered Sites
     http://www.zope.org/Resources/ZopePowered


SPEAKER BIOGRAPHY

(Extracted from http://www.zope.com/Corporate/Management/Page.html)

Rob Page, Chief Executive Officer & President, Zope Corporation:

Rob Page provides leadership and vision, directing corporate operations, professional services, product development and sales. He is involved in all aspects of company strategy, client services and quality assurance. Prior to co-founding Zope Corporation in 1995, he co-founded Connecting Minds, a consultancy firm. He also served for nine years in the Marine Corps and Marine Corps Reserve as a data systems officer. Rob earned his B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Florida.


COMPANY BIOGRAPHY

(Extracted from http://www.zope.com/Corporate/CompanyProfile.html)

Zope Corporation uses Zope Software to create high-end custom solutions with unparalleled time to market. The company generates revenue by offering Zope-based products, content management solutions through consulting services, support and training. Building on the open source model, customers are freed of vendor dependence because they have the source code of their product / custom solution.


GIVEAWAYS

O'Reilly has been kind enough to provide us with some of their books, which we will continue to raffle off as giveaways at our meetings.

Addison-Wesley Professional/Prentice Hall PTR has been kind enough to provide us with some of their books, which we will continue to raffle off as giveaways at our meetings.

Unigroup would like to thank both companies for the support provided by their User Group programs.

Note: The chances tend to be about 1 in 5, that any attendee of our meeting will walk away with a fairly valuable giveaway (ie. most books are valued between $30 and $60)!


FEE SCHEDULE

       Yearly Membership (includes all meetings):      $ 50.00
       Non-Member Single Meeting:                      $ 20.00
       Student Yearly Membership:                      $ 20.00
       Non-Member Student Single Meeting (with ID):    $  5.00
       Payment Methods: Cash, Check, American Express.


FOOD AND REFRESHMENTS

Complimentary Food and Refreshments will be served.

This includes sandwiches such as turkey, roast beef, chicken, tuna and grilled vegetables as well as assorted salads, cookies, bottled water and assorted beverages.


Please join us for this meeting, you won't want to miss it!

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