The developer tutorial is appropriate for just that: developing packages. There isn't a tutorial for *using* OpenACS. In fact, a great frustration that I have is that to *use* OpenACS, it is a bit difficult to follow the directions, and still *use* my favorite text editor. This forum is a classic example. I'm using a screaming hot computer, running Solaris, with vendor supported emacs (Wahoo!) on the side. And yet I'm typing this note in a tiny screen, and wondering how it will turn out! Troff, anyone? This is akin to the suggestion in the docs to create a home page for your brand, spanking, new OpenACS install by firing up ETP. And even then, there is no suggestion as to what to put in This Edited Page. FWIW, the acs-templating guide doc/acs-templating/demo/ is most helpful. But it's hidden in the docs.
Hey, my hands are filthy with OpenACS muck on them. And I still feel that it's the best thing going, all things considered. But the standard kit has a few nits, that if fixed, would make the kit much easier to grok for a wider user base. And yes, by fixing, I mean easing the use of the OpenACS as plain webserver as needed. Really, there's a tremendous amount of high-quality, ready-to-run code in the OpenACS kit. One ought to be able to just use it.
But, as I noted above, I've got my workaround. And on Monday, I'm going to show a static website developer how to add an OpenACS forum and journal to her website, and neither one of us will program a thing!!!
Cheers!
