Daniel Fagerstrom wrote:
Another case is if we follow the method of handling the profile info for a portal block that Reinhard proposed. If we want to use two portals under the same Cocoon the portal block will be deployed in two instances with different implementations of the profile contract. Also here is the question is how we differ between the two instances.
Let's assume that you want to deploy two custom blocks that are based on the portal block. Doing so leds to two different blocks (--> different block IDs) which both extend the same block. Both blocks can use the same profile block to be customized or each gets its own - depends on your requirements.
If we compare the situation with concepts from Java, my view was:
Java: You download a class with unique combination of name and namespace. Blocks: You download a block with a unique URI.
Java: You call the constuctor of the class possibly with parameters and get an object with an unique object id.
Blocks: You deploy the block and get a block instance with a unique (in your Cocoon) block instance id. During deployment you give it parameter values and connect it to other block instances.
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I guess that in your view there is no istantiation, you subclass and have everything "static" instead.
Both views will solve the same problem but in different ways. With your view we might want to have tool support for automatic subclassing ;)
It should be as simple as writing a new block.xml and make a .cob out of it. btw, I heard of some project called Lepido .... ;-)
After reading your mail I thought a bit about block instances but IMO they make things more difficult: where to put the 'constructor parameters', URI resolving and maybe more stuff. Maybe we really need them but this will be clearified after we set up some usecases using a working prototype.
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Reinhard Pötz Independent Consultant, Trainer & (IT)-Coach
{Software Engineering, Open Source, Web Applications, Apache Cocoon}web(log): http://www.poetz.cc --------------------------------------------------------------------
