Re: [PHP Template] Re: [PHP3] template engine example document

On Sun, 26 Mar 2000, Ron Chmara wrote:
> Then the designer gets two variables, that they can use, or not use.
> $tblcolor1 = ""
> $tblcolor2 = ""
> 
> If they want two colors, they assign two. If they want one color,
> they get assign one. They don't _do_ any logic that way.  The logic
> looks for two vriables, if there are two, it alternates.

What do you mean by "they assign two"? I thought designers only used
include's and echo's in your examples? 

> They can pass HTML tags in variables. That's nothing new, either..
> if you want them to always be based on a ruleset,  you can implement it,
> but a designer shouldn't _be_ specifying what those rulesets are,
> arbitrarily. Their land is arbitrarily controlling appearance, no?
> So give them control of their variables.

Well, what if the variable comes from the database? If it's empty, you
want to not display <br> after it? See, the designer can't control this
now.

> I think part of our respective, differing, mindsets is that you are assuming
> that the designer has a template with mixed logic and appearance that
> they control, with the designer setting the loop iteration counts (don't
> do that, you'll regret it when they look up 30,000 records for one table).

Not at all. Loop iteration counts is, once again, content, not
presentation.

> I'm approaching this with a mindset that designers shouldn't be allowed to
> control loops, only the resulting, final *appearance*. 

Yes. So do we.

> Loops are logic. Designers shouldn't be _doing_ logic, should they?

Designer is not going to just arbitrarily set up a loop and expect it to
work. The loop is controlled from the PHP script. So a programmer sets
up a section loop in the template initially and then passes it off to
the designer.

-Andrei

"Music expresses that which can not be said
 and on which it is impossible to be silent."
                         -Victor Hugo