Introduction to Template
The Template library, written for the CodeIgniter PHP-framework, is a wrapper for CI’s View implementation. Template is a reaction to the numerous questions from the CI community regarding how one would display multiple views for one controller, and how to embed “views within views” in a standardized fashion. In addition, Template provides extra Views loading capabilities, the ability to utilize any template parser (like Smarty), and shortcuts for including CSS, JavaScript, and other common elements in your final rendered HTML.
Template is right for you if:
- You feel like using views can be clunky, especially when "embedding" views.
- You don't like calling header, footer, and other global views from every Controller method.
- You prefer having one "master template" that can be changed for any controller in order to meet unique application design needs.
- You don't want to drastically alter the way you interface controllers and views.
- You like clear, thorough documentation on par with CodeIgniter's User Guide.
Ready to give Template a shot? Download it now and get started.
What's New in Version 1.3?
Since Version 1.1, Template provided the parse_view() method, allowing programmers to utilize CI's Template Parser class when writing to regions instead of just using standard PHP-coded Views. Version 1.3 expands this functionality, allowing the use of any additional template parser, like the popular Smarty Template Engine. Along these same lines, Version 1.3 allows the master template file to be parsed by any parser class instead of always being loaded as a View.
Template's Approach
Template works by writing to pre-defined regions of a master template. Although you will most often write to your template from a Controller, you can write content to these regions from any part of your application. Content could be a simple string of plain text, HTML, or the results from a View. Regions display by echoing variables placed throughout your master template as desired. Template also lets you use multiple template configurations, making it completely flexible to meet the needs of your application’s design.
Here's what using template looks like:
$this->template->write('title', 'Introduction to Template');
$this->template->write_view('content', 'blog/posts', $this->blog->get_posts());
$this->template->render();
Look interesting? Head over to the Getting Started section to begin using Template in your next CodeIgniter application.