eZTemplate from PHP #

Part 8, reference 12. Module views, mail and some cronjobs render templates from PHP. eZTemplate (lib/eztemplate/classes/eztemplate.php) is the template engine. This page covers using it; writing operators and functions for it is in Template operators and Template functions.

The usual three lines #

<?php
$tpl = eZTemplate::factory();
$tpl->setVariable( 'items', $items );
$html = $tpl->fetch( 'design:myext/list.tpl' );

Resources #

The template name has a resource prefix:

Always use design: for templates of your extension, so designs and overrides can replace them (The design chain).

In a module view #

<?php
$Module = $Params['Module'];
$tpl = eZTemplate::factory();
$tpl->setVariable( 'items', myExtItem::fetchByParent( 2 ) );

$Result = array();
$Result['content'] = $tpl->fetch( 'design:myext/list.tpl' );
$Result['path'] = array( array( 'url' => false, 'text' => ezpI18n::tr( 'extension/myext', 'Items' ) ) );

The kernel then draws $Result['content'] inside the pagelayout (View results, the path and the pagelayout).

Variables in templates are values #

Objects passed with setVariable() are read in templates through attribute(), hasAttribute() and attributes(). Plain arrays work directly. A PHP object without those methods shows nothing in a template.

Errors #

Template errors (an unknown variable, an operator that does not exist) are written to the debug output with the template's name and line. Check hasErrors() in scripts and tests:

<?php
$tpl = eZTemplate::factory();
$tpl->setVariable( 'name', 'World' );
$out = $tpl->fetch( 'design:myext/hello.tpl' );
if ( $tpl->hasErrors() )
{
    eZDebug::writeError( $tpl->errorLog(), __METHOD__ );
}

Caching #

Compiled templates are cached under the site's cache directory. A new template file needs the template-override cache cleared before an override rule finds it, and rendered output kept in view caches or cache-blocks stays until those caches are cleared (Cache tags, cache blocks and clearing caches).

Related pages #

• Previous: eZSys and eZExtension
• Next: eZModule and module results
• Built-in template operators, Built-in template functions
• Free documentation: this page is free to copy, translate and improve under the GNU FDL 1.3.