Re: [PHP Template] Re: [PHP3] PHP Template Engine spec revision 0.52

At 12:38 AM 3/21/00 +0200, Zeev Suraski wrote:
>I want to add that this time I wasn't just saying what my personal
>thoughts were, but was representing the impression I got from quite a few
>hardcore PHP developers, that developed applications with the layout being
>written by others.  All of them replied 'no way?!' (or something along 
>the lines of this) when I asked them whether templates should have logic
>(control structures) inside them.

Well, you should really have asked them to join this list then instead of
talking to them privately and then just passing on their opinions.

>About the many prefixes for variables, I didn't notice this before (I was
>mostly concerned about the logic control structures), but I tend to agree
>they're quite high in the infamous WTF scale.  If you're dealing with
>programming-challenged people, you shouldn't use all of these confusing
>prefixes...

Look, the template engine can be as dumb or as sophisticated as you want it
to be. You want just the level of FastTemplate? Fine, use only variables
and sections, if you want to. Want something a little better? Use config
files and conditionals. No one is forcing programmers/designers to use
every single feature of this engine in every template. Customize it to your
needs. Come up with a process that works best for you. Given a choice
between making it more powerful and, perhaps, not as obvious, and making it
way rate way high on the DUH level, I'll take powerful approach every time
because of all the projects that I've done along with the designers.

Every programming project is started to "scratch an itch". Well, this was
mine. Mosquito bitten, unite!


-Andrei