TPL syntax basics #

This page is for designers who read or write templates. It lists the rules of the template language once, so the other pages can be short.

Contents #

1. Text and tags
2. Values
3. Variables
4. Operators
5. Functions
6. Comments
7. Braces in the output

Text and tags #

Everything outside braces is printed as it is. Everything inside { } is a template tag:

Values #

Variables #

Variables start with $. They are created with {def}, changed with {set}, removed with {undef} (Variables and def). Attributes of objects and keys of hashes are read with a dot: $node.name, $node.data_map.title, $hash.key; array items with a number: $list.0 (Attributes and dot notation).

Operators #

Two equivalent ways to call an operator:

{$text|upcase}                {* pipe: the value on the left is the input *}
{upcase( $text )}             {* call *}
{$text|shorten( 80 )}         {* pipe with parameters *}
{concat( 'a', $b, 'c' )}      {* call with several values *}

Operators can be chained: {$text|strip_tags|shorten( 120 )|wash}. Comparison and arithmetic are operators too: eq( $a, 1 ), gt( $count, 10 ), sum( $a, 2 ) (Operators overview).

Functions #

Functions control the template: {if}, {foreach}, {def}, {include}, {cache-block}. Parameters are name=value pairs or, for some functions, a fixed syntax:

{include uri='design:parts/teaser.tpl' node=$child}
{foreach $items as $item} ... {/foreach}

See the Function reference.

Comments #

{* A comment: may span several lines, never reaches the browser. *}

Use template comments, not HTML comments (<!-- -->), for notes about the template: HTML comments are sent to every visitor.

Braces in the output #

A literal { or } in the output (CSS or JavaScript inside a template, which designs avoid anyway) is written as {ldelim} and {rdelim}, or the text is wrapped in {literal} ... {/literal} (Literal and delimiters).

Related pages #

• Templates overview
• Variables and def
• Operators overview
• Free documentation: this page is free to copy, translate and improve under the GNU FDL 1.3.