153 lines
7.2 KiB
Markdown
153 lines
7.2 KiB
Markdown
Features
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=======
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Some of Smarty's features:
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- It is extremely fast.
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- It is efficient since the PHP parser does the dirty work.
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- No template parsing overhead, only compiles once.
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- It is smart about [recompiling](#variable.compile.check) only the
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template files that have changed.
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- You can easily create your own custom
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[functions](#language.custom.functions) and [variable
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modifiers](#language.modifiers), so the template language is
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extremely extensible.
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- Configurable template [{delimiter}](#variable.left.delimiter) tag
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syntax, so you can use `{$foo}`, `{{$foo}}`, `<!--{$foo}-->`, etc.
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- The [`{if}..{elseif}..{else}..{/if}`](#language.function.if)
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constructs are passed to the PHP parser, so the `{if...}` expression
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syntax can be as simple or as complex an evaluation as you like.
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- Allows unlimited nesting of
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[`sections`](#language.function.section), `if's` etc.
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- Built-in [caching](#caching) support
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- Arbitrary [template](#resources) sources
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- [Template Inheritance](#advanced.features.template.inheritance) for
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easy management of template content.
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- [Plugin](#plugins) architecture
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## Separation of presentation from application code
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- This means templates can certainly contain logic under the condition
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that it is for presentation only. Things such as
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[including](./designers/language-builtin-functions/language-function-include.md) other templates,
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[alternating](./designers/language-custom-functions/language-function-cycle.md) table row colors,
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[upper-casing](./designers/language-modifiers/language-modifier-upper.md) a variable,
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[looping](./designers/language-builtin-functions/language-function-foreach.md) over an array of data and
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rendering it are examples of presentation logic.
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- This does not mean however that Smarty forces a separation of
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business and presentation logic. Smarty has no knowledge of which is
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which, so placing business logic in the template is your own doing.
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- Also, if you desire *no* logic in your templates you certainly can
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do so by boiling the content down to text and variables only.
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## How does it work?
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Under the hood, Smarty "compiles" (basically copies and converts) the
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templates into PHP scripts. This happens once when each template is
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first invoked, and then the compiled versions are used from that point
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forward. Smarty takes care of this for you, so the template designer
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just edits the Smarty templates and never has to manage the compiled
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versions. This approach keeps the templates easy to maintain, and yet
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keeps execution times extremely fast since the compiled code is just
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PHP. And of course, all PHP scripts take advantage of PHP op-code caches
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such as APC.
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## Template Inheritance
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Template inheritance was introduced in Smarty 3. Before template
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inheritance, we managed our templates in
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pieces such as header and footer templates. This organization lends
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itself to many problems that require some hoop-jumping, such as managing
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content within the header/footer on a per-page basis. With template
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inheritance, instead of including other templates we maintain our
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templates as single pages. We can then manipulate blocks of content
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within by inheriting them. This makes templates intuitive, efficient and
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easy to manage. See
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[Template Inheritance](./programmers/advanced-features/advanced-features-template-inheritance.md)
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for more info.
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## Why not use XML/XSLT syntax?
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There are a couple of good reasons. First, Smarty can be used for more
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than just XML/HTML based templates, such as generating emails,
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javascript, CSV, and PDF documents. Second, XML/XSLT syntax is even more
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verbose and fragile than PHP code! It is perfect for computers, but
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horrible for humans. Smarty is about being easy to read, understand and
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maintain.
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## Template Security
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Although Smarty insulates you from PHP, you still have the option to use
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it in certain ways if you wish. Template security forces the restriction
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of PHP (and select Smarty functions.) This is useful if you have third
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parties editing templates, and you don't want to unleash the full power
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of PHP or Smarty to them.
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## Integration
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Sometimes Smarty gets compared to Model-View-Controller (MVC)
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frameworks. Smarty is not an MVC, it is just the presentation layer,
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much like the View (V) part of an MVC. As a matter of fact, Smarty can
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easily be integrated as the view layer of an MVC. Many of the more
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popular ones have integration instructions for Smarty, or you may find
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some help here in the forums and documentation.
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## Other Template Engines
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Smarty is not the only engine following the *"Separate Programming Code
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from Presentation"* philosophy. For instance, Python has template
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engines built around the same principles such as Django Templates and
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CheetahTemplate. *Note: Languages such as Python do not mix with HTML
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natively, which give them the advantage of proper programming code
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separation from the outset. There are libraries available to mix Python
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with HTML, but they are typically avoided.*
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## What Smarty is Not
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Smarty is not an application development framework. Smarty is not an
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MVC. Smarty is not an alternative to Laravel, Symfony, CodeIgniter,
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or any of the other application development frameworks for PHP.
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Smarty is a template engine, and works as the (V)iew component of your
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application. Smarty can easily be coupled to any of the engines listed
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above as the view component. No different than any other software,
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Smarty has a learning curve. Smarty does not guarantee good application
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design or proper separation of presentation, this still needs to be
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addressed by a competent developer and web designer.
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## Is Smarty Right for Me?
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Smarty is not meant to be a tool for every job. The important thing is
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to identify if Smarty fits your needs. There are some important
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questions to ask yourself:
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### Template Syntax
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Are you content with PHP tags mixed with HTML? Are your
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web designers comfortable with PHP? Would your web designers prefer a
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tag-based syntax designed for presentation? Some experience working with
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both Smarty and PHP helps answer these questions.
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### The Business Case
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Is there a requirement to insulate the templates from
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PHP? Do you have untrusted parties editing templates that you do not
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wish to unleash the power of PHP to? Do you need to programmatically
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control what is and is not available within the templates? Smarty
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supplies these capabilities by design.
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## Feature set
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Does Smarty's features such as caching, template
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inheritance and plugin architecture save development cycles writing code
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that would be needed otherwise? Does the codebase or framework you plan
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on using have the features you need for the presentation component?
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## Sites using Smarty
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Many well-known PHP projects make use of Smarty such as XOOPS CMS, CMS Made Simple, Tiki
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CMS/Groupware and X-Cart to name a few.
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## Summary
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Whether you are using Smarty for a small website or massive enterprise
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solution, it can accommodate your needs. There are numerous features
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that make Smarty a great choice:
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- separation of PHP from HTML/CSS just makes sense
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- readability for organization and management
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- security for 3rd party template access
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- feature completeness, and easily extendable to your own needs
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- massive user base, Smarty is here to stay
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- LGPL license for commercial use
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- 100% free to use, open source project
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