what is Zope ?

Zope is a so called Application server.  This means that Zope is a framework for building web applications.  A web application is a computer program that users access with a web browser over the Internet.  You can also think of a web application as a dynamic web site that provides not only static information to users but lets them use dynamic tools to work with an application.  Zope consists of several different components that work together to help you build web applications.  Zope is open source.  This means that not only is Zope free of charge to download, but you are also free to use Zope in your own applications without paying royalties or usage fees.

Figure 16a. The Zope logo.