Forum OpenACS Q&A: Response to Will OpenACS make my life easier?

While I don't claim to be superior in any way to the many fine coders who populate this forum, I do have over twenty years of professional programming experience in everything from 8051 assembly language to extensive database/SQL coding.  I mention this only so that you may put the following comments in the proper context...

When I found ACS/OACS I was looking for a tool that would allow me to apply my database experience to the internet.  I was (and still am) impressed by the strength of the underlying data model.  OACS's "home-brew" object model allows for powerful data abstractions within packages (OACS functional modules) while permitting and even encouraging integration between packages.  And, as others have pointed out, there is a vast amount of functionality already present in an "out of the box" OACS 4 installation.

Unfortunately, for those like myself, who would like to create their own packages, the sophisticated data model is both a blessing and a curse.  As mentioned in numerous other threads, the documentation is less than adequate.  Additionally, the documentation presents just enough information to make developing with the OACS seem easier than it really is (for me, at least).

The feeling I've gotten on numerous occasions is like the feeling one gets when a friend gives you directions from point A to point B.  On first glance the directions appear clear and you may even recognize a landmark or two described along the way.  However, when you attempt to actually follow the directions you realize that there are many choices and intersections that are not adequately described and you wonder if you are still heading in the right direction.

Part of the difficulty comes from the fact that much of the documentation for OACS 4 is clearly targeted at users migrating from ACS 3.x and not those completely new to 4.  And, while there are many fine folks here willing to answer questions about OACS installation and track down specific bugs, questions regarding OACS internals are usually answered less "completely."  For example, my question entitled: "What is the purpose of the Application group type under OpenACS 4" received no responses at all.

I don't seem to be the only one who's had trouble comprehending the entire scheme.  For example, Tom Jackson, a frequent contributer/poster recently had to ask for assistance in accomplishing what would outwardly appear to be a very simple task in his thread "groups and group_types massively messed up."  If Tom can't figure the stuff out then it's hopeless for a mere mortal like me!

I would also suggest you that you refer to the numerous posts by Roger Williams which point out some of the difficulties inherent in understanding and using OACS--both the object model and the UI.

Don't get me wrong.  This is not a complaint against the fine VOLUNTEERS at OpenACS.org.  They were not put here to serve me or you and we shouldn't expect them to.  I'm simply trying to ensure that you get a realistic representation of what you can expect from OACS and the community around it.

My bottom line is that OACS is a terrific and powerful system that I would like to use and eventually contribute to.  It is growing and improving daily through the hard work of some very talented people and will likely become the best system of its kind.  However, unless you are willing to live with MUCH less documentation than you are probably used to having and you are willing to do A LOT of digging into the OACS internals, you should probably wait awhile until the docs improve.