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

On Tue, 21 Mar 2000, Zeev Suraski wrote:
> If it can be sophisticated, it means that people who want to read it would
> have to be familiar with this spec, thoroughly, even if they're already
> quite fluent in PHP.  That's the bad thing.  Having the ability to decide
> whether it's simple or complicated is not a plus, it should be simple by
> definition.

Being fluent in more than one language is not a bad idea, I think. Don't
limit your options.

> I am providing a solution - you provided it yourself in your example, that
> compared how to implement the template if in PHP code. Use PHP syntax for
> logic, use your templates for presentation.  I won't suggest using 'for'
> loops instead of 'while' loops, which you may consider as constructive
> criticism.  I suggest moving logic outside of the templates engine
> altogether.

'if' was an easy example. Compare this:

{section}
	Headline: {@headline}
	{if #LAST}
		<hr>
	{/if}
{/section}

with this:

<? for ($i=0; $i<count($headlines); $i++): ?>
	Headline: <? echo $headlines[$i]; ?>
	<? if ($i == count($headlines)-1): ?>
		<hr>
	<? endif; ?>
<? endfor; ?>

No contest for me.

-Andrei
* Power corrupts. Atomic power corrupts atomically. *