ZCML

Description

What Plone programmers should know about ZCML.

Introduction

ZCML stands for the Zope Configuration Mark-up Language. It is an XML-based language used to extend and plug into systems based on the Zope Component Architecture (ZCA).

It provides:

  • conflict resolution (e.g. two plug-ins cannot overlap);
  • extensible syntax based on namespaces.

Downsides of ZCML are:

  • it is cumbersome to write by hand;
  • lack of end-user documentation.

Plone uses ZCML to:

  • register components with various places in the system, both core and add-ons.

Note

Everything you can do in ZCML can also be done in Python code.

After developers found ZCML cumbersome, the Grok framework was created. Grok makes it possible use the ZCA without writing XML by enabling Python directives and function decorators to be used instead.

More info:

ZCML workflow

Each Plone component (core, add-on) has a base configure.zcml in the package root. This ZCML file can include additional nested configuration files using the <include> directive.

When Plone is started all ZCML files are read.

  • New way: Python egg setup.py file contains a autoinclude hint and is picked up automatically when all the packages are scanned.
  • Old way: ZCML reference must be manually added to the zcml = section in buildout.cfg

If ZCML contains errors Plone does not start up in the foreground

Overrides

Besides layer overrides, ZCML provides more hardcore ways to override things in buildout. These overrides can also override utilities etc. and overrides take effect during ZCML parsing, not when site is run.

  • Create overrides.zcml file in your egg to the same folder as configure.zcml
  • Syntax is 100% same as in configure.zcml
  • Restart Plone.

Note

Before Plone 3.3, ZCML directives could not be automatically picked up from eggs. To make Plone pick up the directions in overrides.zcml, you'd have to add this line in buildout.cfg: 

zcml =
    ...
    myegg-overrides

Since Plone 3.3, the z3c.autoinclude plugin can do this (http://plone.org/products/plone/roadmap/247/).

Specify files and code from another package

If you ever find yourself needing to use a template from another package, you can do so with using the configure tag which will then run the block of ZCML in the context of that package.

Here is an example of defining portlet manager to be defined in another manager: 

<configure
    xmlns="http://namespaces.zope.org/zope"
    xmlns:browser="http://namespaces.zope.org/browser"
    i18n_domain="my.package">

  <!-- Moved viewlet registration -->
  <configure package="Products.ContentWellPortlets">
    <browser:viewlet
        name="contentwellportlets.portletsabovecontent"
        class="Products.ContentWellPortlets.browser.viewlets.PortletsAboveViewlet"
        manager="plone.app.layout.viewlets.interfaces.IBelowContentTitle"
        layer="Products.ContentWellPortlets.browser.interfaces.IContentWellPortlets"
        permission="zope2.View"
        template="browser/templates/portletsabovecontent.pt"
        />
  </configure>

</configure>

Conditionally run ZCML

You can conditionally run ZCML if a certain package or feature is installed.

First, include the namespace at the top of the ZCML file: 

<configure
    xmlns="http://namespaces.zope.org/zope"
    xmlns:zcml="http://namespaces.zope.org/zcml"
    i18n_domain="my.package">
....

Examples

conditionally run for package:

<include zcml:condition="installed some.package" package=".package" />
<include zcml:condition="not-installed some.package" package=".otherpackage" />

conditionally run for feature:

<include zcml:condition="have plone-4" package=".package" />
<include zcml:condition="not-have plone-4" package=".otherpackage" />