Template syntax basics: comments, delimiters, variables, flow #

The template language is its own: tags in braces, variables with $, operators after a pipe. This page is the book's introduction, made current. The language is described in full in What the template language is; look there for the details.

Where the data in a template comes from #

1. Navigation (menus, banners): fetched from the tree, not typed (fetching content).
2. Applets (polls, news boxes, feeds): small templates called with parameters, usually a node.
3. $module_result.content: the main result, drawn by the content view.
4. What the view fetches itself: the object with its attributes, a rich structure to use where it fits.

Comments #

{* This is a comment. It is dropped when the template is compiled. *}

A comment can span lines and hold template code that should not run. Write them: describe what a template is for and the variables it expects. HTML comments (<!-- -->) are sent to the browser and are also parsed by the template engine, so they can clash with template syntax; prefer {* *}.

Braces: ldelim, rdelim, literal #

{ and } start and end a template tag. To print one, use {ldelim} and {rdelim}. To pass a longer block that has braces (a JavaScript or CSS block) through untouched, wrap it in {literal}:

{literal}
function f( p ) { return p; }
{/literal}

In Exponential, put script in a file and load it from the design's list of script files, not into the template: the content security policy blocks inline script (Content Security Policy for extension authors).

Variables #

A variable holds a value set by a function, an operator, a module, or by the template itself. A variable you create in a template is local to that template file. Create one with def (declared for the rest of the file) or let (for a block), change it with set:

{def $title='Hello'}
{set $title=concat( $title, ' world' )}
{$title|wash}

The older form {let fruit=array(apple,orange)}...{/let} still works. Variables from {section} and {foreach} are in the loop's own namespace ($:item, a leading colon, in {section}; a plain $item in {foreach}). Variables set in an included template do not come back to the including one unless you pass them as parameters. See Variables in depth and Namespaces.

Control flow #

The book teaches {section} for loops, conditions and switches. It still works, and a lot of existing templates use it. For new templates, write:

{foreach $children as $child}
    <li>{$child.name|wash}</li>
{/foreach}

{if $node.depth|gt( 2 )}...{else}...{/if}

{switch match=$node.class_identifier}
    {case match='article'}...{/case}
    {case}...{/case}
{/switch}

Sections versus foreach and the Control structures reference give every parameter.

Next: fetching content in templates.

Source and license #

Adapted from chapter 3, "Displaying Content with eZ publish Templates", of Learning eZ publish: Building Content Management Solutions by Paul Borgermans, Tony Wood, Paul Forsyth, Martin Bauer, Björn Dieding and Ben Pirt (additional material by Bruce Morrison), second edition, 2024, Book-Learning-eZPublish. Copyright (c) 2004-2024 7x and Graham Brookins. Licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License, version 1.3 or any later version, with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts and no Back-Cover Texts (the license). Changes: rearranged and shortened; syntax, operators, settings and examples updated to Exponential 6 (foreach, current settings, no inline style or script).