Template::Manual::Config - Configuration options This section contains details of all the configuration options that can be used to customise the behaviour and extend the features of the Template Toolkit.

Template Style and Parsing Options
The START_TAG and END_TAG options are used to specify character sequences or regular expressions that mark the start and end of a template directive. The default values for START_TAG and END_TAG are '[%' and '%]' respectively, giving us the familiar directive style: [% example %] Any Perl regex characters can be used and therefore should be escaped (or use the Perl "quotemeta" function) if they are intended to represent literal characters. my $template = Template->new({ START_TAG => quotemeta('<+'), END_TAG => quotemeta('+>'), }); example: <+ INCLUDE foobar +> The TAGS directive can also be used to set the START_TAG and END_TAG values on a per-template file basis. [% TAGS <+ +> %] The TAG_STYLE option can be used to set both START_TAG and END_TAG according to pre-defined tag styles. my $template = Template->new({ TAG_STYLE => 'star', }); Available styles are: template [% ... %] (default) template1 [% ... %] or %% ... %% (TT version 1) metatext %% ... %% (Text::MetaText) star [* ... *] (TT alternate) php <? ... ?> (PHP) asp <% ... %> (ASP) mason <% ... > (HTML::Mason) html <!-- ... --> (HTML comments) Any values specified for START_TAG and/or END_TAG will over-ride those defined by a TAG_STYLE. The TAGS directive may also be used to set a TAG_STYLE [% TAGS html %] <!-- INCLUDE header --> Anything outside a directive tag is considered plain text and is generally passed through unaltered (but see the INTERPOLATE option). This includes all whitespace and newlines characters surrounding directive tags. Directives that don't generate any output will leave gaps in the output document. Example: Foo [% a = 10 %] Bar Output: Foo Bar The PRE_CHOMP and POST_CHOMP options can help to clean up some of this extraneous whitespace. Both are disabled by default. my $template = Template->new({ PRE_CHOMP => 1, POST_CHOMP => 1, }); With PRE_CHOMP set to 1, the newline and whitespace preceding a directive at the start of a line will be deleted. This has the effect of concatenating a line that starts with a directive onto the end of the previous line. Foo <----------. | ,---(PRE_CHOMP)----' | `-- [% a = 10 %] --. | ,---(POST_CHOMP)---' | `-> Bar With POST_CHOMP set to 1, any whitespace after a directive up to and including the newline will be deleted. This has the effect of joining a line that ends with a directive onto the start of the next line. If PRE_CHOMP or POST_CHOMP is set to 2, then instead of removing all the whitespace, the whitespace will be collapsed to a single space. This is useful for HTML, where (usually) a contiguous block of whitespace is rendered the same as a single space. You may use the CHOMP_NONE, CHOMP_ALL, and CHOMP_COLLAPSE constants from the Template::Constants module to deactivate chomping, remove all whitespace, or collapse whitespace to a single space. PRE_CHOMP and POST_CHOMP can be activated for individual directives by placing a '-' immediately at the start and/or end of the directive. [% FOREACH user = userlist %] [%- user -%] [% END %] The '-' characters activate both PRE_CHOMP and POST_CHOMP for the one directive '[%- name -%]'. Thus, the template will be processed as if written: [% FOREACH user = userlist %][% user %][% END %] Note that this is the same as if PRE_CHOMP and POST_CHOMP were set to CHOMP_ALL; the only way to get the CHOMP_COLLAPSE behavior is to set PRE_CHOMP or POST_CHOMP accordingly. If PRE_CHOMP or POST_CHOMP is already set to CHOMP_COLLAPSE, using '-' will give you CHOMP_COLLAPSE behavior, not CHOMP_ALL behavior. Similarly, '+' characters can be used to disable PRE_CHOMP or POST_CHOMP (i.e. leave the whitespace/newline intact) options on a per-directive basis. [% FOREACH user = userlist %] User: [% user +%] [% END %] With POST_CHOMP enabled, the above example would be parsed as if written: [% FOREACH user = userlist %]User: [% user %] [% END %] The TRIM option can be set to have any leading and trailing whitespace automatically removed from the output of all template files and BLOCKs. By example, the following BLOCK definition [% BLOCK foo %] Line 1 of foo [% END %] will be processed is as "\nLine 1 of foo\n". When INCLUDEd, the surrounding newlines will also be introduced. before [% INCLUDE foo %] after output: before Line 1 of foo after With the TRIM option set to any true value, the leading and trailing newlines (which count as whitespace) will be removed from the output of the BLOCK. before Line 1 of foo after The TRIM option is disabled (0) by default. The INTERPOLATE flag, when set to any true value will cause variable references in plain text (i.e. not surrounded by START_TAG and END_TAG) to be recognised and interpolated accordingly. my $template = Template->new({ INTERPOLATE => 1, }); Variables should be prefixed by a '$' to identify them. Curly braces can be used in the familiar Perl/shell style to explicitly scope the variable name where required. # INTERPOLATE => 0 <a href="http://[% server %]/[% help %]"> <img src="[% images %]/help.gif"></a> [% myorg.name %] # INTERPOLATE => 1 <a href="http://$server/$help"> <img src="$images/help.gif"></a> $myorg.name # explicit scoping with { } <img src="$images/${icon.next}.gif"> Note that a limitation in Perl's regex engine restricts the maximum length of an interpolated template to around 32 kilobytes or possibly less. Files that exceed this limit in size will typically cause Perl to dump core with a segmentation fault. If you routinely process templates of this size then you should disable INTERPOLATE or split the templates in several smaller files or blocks which can then be joined backed together via PROCESS or INCLUDE. By default, directive keywords should be expressed in UPPER CASE. The ANYCASE option can be set to allow directive keywords to be specified in any case. # ANYCASE => 0 (default) [% INCLUDE foobar %] # OK [% include foobar %] # ERROR [% include = 10 %] # OK, 'include' is a variable # ANYCASE => 1 [% INCLUDE foobar %] # OK [% include foobar %] # OK [% include = 10 %] # ERROR, 'include' is reserved word One side-effect of enabling ANYCASE is that you cannot use a variable of the same name as a reserved word, regardless of case. The reserved words are currently: GET CALL SET DEFAULT INSERT INCLUDE PROCESS WRAPPER IF UNLESS ELSE ELSIF FOR FOREACH WHILE SWITCH CASE USE PLUGIN FILTER MACRO PERL RAWPERL BLOCK META TRY THROW CATCH FINAL NEXT LAST BREAK RETURN STOP CLEAR TO STEP AND OR NOT MOD DIV END The only lower case reserved words that cannot be used for variables, regardless of the ANYCASE option, are the operators: and or not mod div

Template Files and Blocks
The INCLUDE_PATH is used to specify one or more directories in which template files are located. When a template is requested that isn't defined locally as a BLOCK, each of the INCLUDE_PATH directories is searched in turn to locate the template file. Multiple directories can be specified as a reference to a list or as a single string where each directory is delimited by ':'. my $template = Template->new({ INCLUDE_PATH => '/usr/local/templates', }); my $template = Template->new({ INCLUDE_PATH => '/usr/local/templates:/tmp/my/templates', }); my $template = Template->new({ INCLUDE_PATH => [ '/usr/local/templates', '/tmp/my/templates' ], }); On Win32 systems, a little extra magic is invoked, ignoring delimiters that have ':' followed by a '/' or '\'. This avoids confusion when using directory names like 'C:\Blah Blah'. When specified as a list, the INCLUDE_PATH path can contain elements which dynamically generate a list of INCLUDE_PATH directories. These generator elements can be specified as a reference to a subroutine or an object which implements a paths() method. my $template = Template->new({ INCLUDE_PATH => [ '/usr/local/templates', \&incpath_generator, My::IncPath::Generator->new( ... ) ], }); Each time a template is requested and the INCLUDE_PATH examined, the subroutine or object method will be called. A reference to a list of directories should be returned. Generator subroutines should report errors using die(). Generator objects should return undef and make an error available via its error() method. For example: sub incpath_generator { # ...some code... if ($all_is_well) { return \@list_of_directories; } else { die "cannot generate INCLUDE_PATH...\n"; } } or: package My::IncPath::Generator; # Template::Base (or Class::Base) provides error() method use Template::Base; use base qw( Template::Base ); sub paths { my $self = shift; # ...some code... if ($all_is_well) { return \@list_of_directories; } else { return $self->error("cannot generate INCLUDE_PATH...\n"); } } 1; Used to provide an alternative delimiter character sequence for separating paths specified in the INCLUDE_PATH. The default value for DELIMITER is ':'. # tolerate Silly Billy's file system conventions my $template = Template->new({ DELIMITER => '; ', INCLUDE_PATH => 'C:/HERE/NOW; D:/THERE/THEN', }); # better solution: install Linux! :-) On Win32 systems, the default delimiter is a little more intelligent, splitting paths only on ':' characters that aren't followed by a '/'. This means that the following should work as planned, splitting the INCLUDE_PATH into 2 separate directories, C:/foo and C:/bar. # on Win32 only my $template = Template->new({ INCLUDE_PATH => 'C:/Foo:C:/Bar' }); However, if you're using Win32 then it's recommended that you explicitly set the DELIMITER character to something else (e.g. ';') rather than rely on this subtle magic. The ABSOLUTE flag is used to indicate if templates specified with absolute filenames (e.g. '/foo/bar') should be processed. It is disabled by default and any attempt to load a template by such a name will cause a 'file' exception to be raised. my $template = Template->new({ ABSOLUTE => 1, }); # this is why it's disabled by default [% INSERT /etc/passwd %] On Win32 systems, the regular expression for matching absolute pathnames is tweaked slightly to also detect filenames that start with a driver letter and colon, such as: C:/Foo/Bar The RELATIVE flag is used to indicate if templates specified with filenames relative to the current directory (e.g. './foo/bar' or '../../some/where/else') should be loaded. It is also disabled by default, and will raise a 'file' error if such template names are encountered. my $template = Template->new({ RELATIVE => 1, }); [% INCLUDE ../logs/error.log %] The DEFAULT option can be used to specify a default template which should be used whenever a specified template can't be found in the INCLUDE_PATH. my $template = Template->new({ DEFAULT => 'notfound.html', }); If a non-existant template is requested through the Template process() method, or by an INCLUDE, PROCESS or WRAPPER directive, then the DEFAULT template will instead be processed, if defined. Note that the DEFAULT template is not used when templates are specified with absolute or relative filenames, or as a reference to a input file handle or text string. The BLOCKS option can be used to pre-define a default set of template blocks. These should be specified as a reference to a hash array mapping template names to template text, subroutines or Template::Document objects. my $template = Template->new({ BLOCKS => { header => 'The Header. [% title %]', footer => sub { return $some_output_text }, another => Template::Document->new({ ... }), }, }); The AUTO_RESET option is set by default and causes the local BLOCKS cache for the Template::Context object to be reset on each call to the Template process() method. This ensures that any BLOCKs defined within a template will only persist until that template is finished processing. This prevents BLOCKs defined in one processing request from interfering with other independent requests subsequently processed by the same context object. The BLOCKS item may be used to specify a default set of block definitions for the Template::Context object. Subsequent BLOCK definitions in templates will over-ride these but they will be reinstated on each reset if AUTO_RESET is enabled (default), or if the Template::Context reset() method is called. The template processor will raise a file exception if it detects direct or indirect recursion into a template. Setting this option to any true value will allow templates to include each other recursively.

Template Variables
The VARIABLES option (or PRE_DEFINE - they're equivalent) can be used to specify a hash array of template variables that should be used to pre-initialise the stash when it is created. These items are ignored if the STASH item is defined. my $template = Template->new({ VARIABLES => { title => 'A Demo Page', author => 'Joe Random Hacker', version => 3.14, }, }; or my $template = Template->new({ PRE_DEFINE => { title => 'A Demo Page', author => 'Joe Random Hacker', version => 3.14, }, }; The CONSTANTS option can be used to specify a hash array of template variables that are compile-time constants. These variables are resolved once when the template is compiled, and thus don't require further resolution at runtime. This results in significantly faster processing of the compiled templates and can be used for variables that don't change from one request to the next. my $template = Template->new({ CONSTANTS => { title => 'A Demo Page', author => 'Joe Random Hacker', version => 3.14, }, }; Constant variables are accessed via the 'constants' namespace by default. [% constants.title %] The CONSTANTS_NAMESPACE option can be set to specify an alternate namespace. my $template = Template->new({ CONSTANTS => { title => 'A Demo Page', # ...etc... }, CONSTANTS_NAMESPACE => 'const', }; In this case the constants would then be accessed as: [% const.title %] The constant folding mechanism described above is an example of a namespace handler. Namespace handlers can be defined to provide alternate parsing mechanisms for variables in different namespaces. Under the hood, the Template module converts a constructor configuration such as: my $template = Template->new({ CONSTANTS => { title => 'A Demo Page', # ...etc... }, CONSTANTS_NAMESPACE => 'const', }; into one like: my $template = Template->new({ NAMESPACE => { const => Template:::Namespace::Constants->new({ title => 'A Demo Page', # ...etc... }), }, }; You can use this mechanism to define multiple constant namespaces, or to install custom handlers of your own. my $template = Template->new({ NAMESPACE => { site => Template:::Namespace::Constants->new({ title => "Wardley's Widgets", version => 2.718, }), author => Template:::Namespace::Constants->new({ name => 'Andy Wardley', email => 'abw@andywardley.com', }), voodoo => My::Namespace::Handler->new( ... ), }, }; Now you have 2 constant namespaces, for example: [% site.title %] [% author.name %] as well as your own custom namespace handler installed for the 'voodoo' namespace. [% voodoo.magic %] See Template::Namespace::Constants for an example of what a namespace handler looks like on the inside.

Template Processing Options
The following options are used to specify any additional templates that should be processed before, after, around or instead of the template passed as the first argument to the Template process() method. These options can be perform various useful tasks such as adding standard headers or footers to all pages, wrapping page output in other templates, pre-defining variables or performing initialisation or cleanup tasks, automatically generating page summary information, navigation elements, and so on. The task of processing the template is delegated internally to the Template::Service module which, unsurprisingly, also has a process() method. Any templates defined by the PRE_PROCESS option are processed first and any output generated is added to the output buffer. Then the main template is processed, or if one or more PROCESS templates are defined then they are instead processed in turn. In this case, one of the PROCESS templates is responsible for processing the main template, by a directive such as: [% PROCESS $template %] The output of processing the main template or the PROCESS template(s) is then wrapped in any WRAPPER templates, if defined. WRAPPER templates don't need to worry about explicitly processing the template because it will have been done for them already. Instead WRAPPER templates access the content they are wrapping via the 'content' variable. wrapper before [% content %] wrapper after This output generated from processing the main template, and/or any PROCESS or WRAPPER templates is added to the output buffer. Finally, any POST_PROCESS templates are processed and their output is also added to the output buffer which is then returned. If the main template throws an exception during processing then any relevant template(s) defined via the ERROR option will be processed instead. If defined and successfully processed, the output from the error template will be added to the output buffer in place of the template that generated the error and processing will continue, applying any WRAPPER and POST_PROCESS templates. If no relevant ERROR option is defined, or if the error occurs in one of the PRE_PROCESS, WRAPPER or POST_PROCESS templates, then the process will terminate immediately and the error will be returned. These values may be set to contain the name(s) of template files (relative to INCLUDE_PATH) which should be processed immediately before and/or after each template. These do not get added to templates processed into a document via directives such as INCLUDE, PROCESS, WRAPPER etc. my $template = Template->new({ PRE_PROCESS => 'header', POST_PROCESS => 'footer', }; Multiple templates may be specified as a reference to a list. Each is processed in the order defined. my $template = Template->new({ PRE_PROCESS => [ 'config', 'header' ], POST_PROCESS => 'footer', }; Alternately, multiple template may be specified as a single string, delimited by ':'. This delimiter string can be changed via the DELIMITER option. my $template = Template->new({ PRE_PROCESS => 'config:header', POST_PROCESS => 'footer', }; The PRE_PROCESS and POST_PROCESS templates are evaluated in the same variable context as the main document and may define or update variables for subsequent use. config: [% # set some site-wide variables bgcolor = '#ffffff' version = 2.718 %] header: [% DEFAULT title = 'My Funky Web Site' %] <html> <head> <title>[% title %]</title> </head> <body bgcolor="[% bgcolor %]"> footer: <hr> Version [% version %] </body> </html> The Template::Document object representing the main template being processed is available within PRE_PROCESS and POST_PROCESS templates as the 'template' variable. Metadata items defined via the META directive may be accessed accordingly. $template->process('mydoc.html', $vars); mydoc.html: [% META title = 'My Document Title' %] blah blah blah ... header: <html> <head> <title>[% template.title %]</title></head> <body bgcolor="[% bgcolor %]"> The PROCESS option may be set to contain the name(s) of template files (relative to INCLUDE_PATH) which should be processed instead of the main template passed to the Template process() method. This can be used to apply consistent wrappers around all templates, similar to the use of PRE_PROCESS and POST_PROCESS templates. my $template = Template->new({ PROCESS => 'content', }; # processes 'content' instead of 'foo.html' $template->process('foo.html'); A reference to the original template is available in the 'template' variable. Metadata items can be inspected and the template can be processed by specifying it as a variable reference (i.e. prefixed by '$') to an INCLUDE, PROCESS or WRAPPER directive. content: <html> <head> <title>[% template.title %]</title> </head> <body> [% PROCESS $template %] <hr> &copy; Copyright [% template.copyright %] </body> </html> foo.html: [% META title = 'The Foo Page' author = 'Fred Foo' copyright = '2000 Fred Foo' %] <h1>[% template.title %]</h1> Welcome to the Foo Page, blah blah blah output: <html> <head> <title>The Foo Page</title> </head> <body> <h1>The Foo Page</h1> Welcome to the Foo Page, blah blah blah <hr> &copy; Copyright 2000 Fred Foo </body> </html> The WRAPPER option can be used to specify one or more templates which should be used to wrap around the output of the main page template. The main template is processed first (or any PROCESS template(s)) and the output generated is then passed as the 'content' variable to the WRAPPER template(s) as they are processed. my $template = Template->new({ WRAPPER => 'wrapper', }; # process 'foo' then wrap in 'wrapper' $template->process('foo', { message => 'Hello World!' }); wrapper: <wrapper> [% content %] </wrapper> foo: This is the foo file! Message: [% message %] The output generated from this example is: <wrapper> This is the foo file! Message: Hello World! </wrapper> You can specify more than one WRAPPER template by setting the value to be a reference to a list of templates. The WRAPPER templates will be processed in reverse order with the output of each being passed to the next (or previous, depending on how you look at it) as the 'content' variable. It sounds complicated, but the end result is that it just "Does The Right Thing" to make wrapper templates nest in the order you specify. my $template = Template->new({ WRAPPER => [ 'outer', 'inner' ], }; # process 'foo' then wrap in 'inner', then in 'outer' $template->process('foo', { message => 'Hello World!' }); outer: <outer> [% content %] </outer> inner: <inner> [% content %] </inner> The output generated is then: <outer> <inner> This is the foo file! Message: Hello World! </inner> </outer> One side-effect of the "inside-out" processing of the WRAPPER configuration item (and also the WRAPPER directive) is that any variables set in the template being wrapped will be visible to the template doing the wrapping, but not the other way around. You can use this to good effect in allowing page templates to set pre-defined values which are then used in the wrapper templates. For example, our main page template 'foo' might look like this: foo: [% page = { title = 'Foo Page' subtitle = 'Everything There is to Know About Foo' author = 'Frank Oliver Octagon' } %] <p> Welcome to the page that tells you everything about foo blah blah blah... </p> The 'foo' template is processed before the wrapper template meaning that the 'page' data structure will be defined for use in the wrapper template. wrapper: <html> <head> <title>[% page.title %]</title> </head> <body> <h1>[% page.title %]</h1> <h2>[% page.subtitle %]</h1> <h3>by [% page.author %]</h3> [% content %] </body> </html> It achieves the same effect as defining META items which are then accessed via the 'template' variable (which you are still free to use within WRAPPER templates), but gives you more flexibility in the type and complexity of data that you can define. The ERROR (or ERRORS if you prefer) configuration item can be used to name a single template or specify a hash array mapping exception types to templates which should be used for error handling. If an uncaught exception is raised from within a template then the appropriate error template will instead be processed. If specified as a single value then that template will be processed for all uncaught exceptions. my $template = Template->new({ ERROR => 'error.html' }); If the ERROR item is a hash reference the keys are assumed to be exception types and the relevant template for a given exception will be selected. A 'default' template may be provided for the general case. Note that 'ERROR' can be pluralised to 'ERRORS' if you find it more appropriate in this case. my $template = Template->new({ ERRORS => { user => 'user/index.html', dbi => 'error/database', default => 'error/default', }, }); In this example, any 'user' exceptions thrown will cause the 'user/index.html' template to be processed, 'dbi' errors are handled by 'error/database' and all others by the 'error/default' template. Any PRE_PROCESS and/or POST_PROCESS templates will also be applied to these error templates. Note that exception types are hierarchical and a 'foo' handler will catch all 'foo.*' errors (e.g. foo.bar, foo.bar.baz) if a more specific handler isn't defined. Be sure to quote any exception types that contain periods to prevent Perl concatenating them into a single string (i.e. "user.passwd" is parsed as 'user'.'passwd'). my $template = Template->new({ ERROR => { 'user.login' => 'user/login.html', 'user.passwd' => 'user/badpasswd.html', 'user' => 'user/index.html', 'default' => 'error/default', }, }); In this example, any template processed by the $template object, or other templates or code called from within, can raise a 'user.login' exception and have the service redirect to the 'user/login.html' template. Similarly, a 'user.passwd' exception has a specific handling template, 'user/badpasswd.html', while all other 'user' or 'user.*' exceptions cause a redirection to the 'user/index.html' page. All other exception types are handled by 'error/default'. Exceptions can be raised in a template using the THROW directive, [% THROW user.login 'no user id: please login' %] or by calling the throw() method on the current Template::Context object, $context->throw('user.passwd', 'Incorrect Password'); $context->throw('Incorrect Password'); # type 'undef' or from Perl code by calling die() with a Template::Exception object, die (Template::Exception->new('user.denied', 'Invalid User ID')); or by simply calling die() with an error string. This is automagically caught and converted to an exception of 'undef' type which can then be handled in the usual way. die "I'm sorry Dave, I can't do that";

Template Runtime Options
This flag is used to indicate if PERL and/or RAWPERL blocks should be evaluated. By default, it is disabled and any PERL or RAWPERL blocks encountered will raise exceptions of type 'perl' with the message 'EVAL_PERL not set'. Note however that any RAWPERL blocks should always contain valid Perl code, regardless of the EVAL_PERL flag. The parser will fail to compile templates that contain invalid Perl code in RAWPERL blocks and will throw a 'file' exception. When using compiled templates (see COMPILE_EXT and COMPILE_DIR), the EVAL_PERL has an affect when the template is compiled, and again when the templates is subsequently processed, possibly in a different context to the one that compiled it. If the EVAL_PERL is set when a template is compiled, then all PERL and RAWPERL blocks will be included in the compiled template. If the EVAL_PERL option isn't set, then Perl code will be generated which always throws a 'perl' exception with the message 'EVAL_PERL not set' whenever the compiled template code is run. Thus, you must have EVAL_PERL set if you want your compiled templates to include PERL and RAWPERL blocks. At some point in the future, using a different invocation of the Template Toolkit, you may come to process such a pre-compiled template. Assuming the EVAL_PERL option was set at the time the template was compiled, then the output of any RAWPERL blocks will be included in the compiled template and will get executed when the template is processed. This will happen regardless of the runtime EVAL_PERL status. Regular PERL blocks are a little more cautious, however. If the EVAL_PERL flag isn't set for the current context, that is, the one which is trying to process it, then it will throw the familiar 'perl' exception with the message, 'EVAL_PERL not set'. Thus you can compile templates to include PERL blocks, but optionally disable them when you process them later. Note however that it is possible for a PERL block to contain a Perl "BEGIN { # some code }" block which will always get run regardless of the runtime EVAL_PERL status. Thus, if you set EVAL_PERL when compiling templates, it is assumed that you trust the templates to Do The Right Thing. Otherwise you must accept the fact that there's no bulletproof way to prevent any included code from trampling around in the living room of the runtime environment, making a real nuisance of itself if it really wants to. If you don't like the idea of such uninvited guests causing a bother, then you can accept the default and keep EVAL_PERL disabled. Default output location or handler. This may be specified as one of: a file name (relative to OUTPUT_PATH, if defined, or the current working directory if not specified absolutely); a file handle (e.g. GLOB or IO::Handle) opened for writing; a reference to a text string to which the output is appended (the string isn't cleared); a reference to a subroutine which is called, passing the output text as an argument; as a reference to an array, onto which the content will be push()ed; or as a reference to any object that supports the print() method. This latter option includes the Apache::Request object which is passed as the argument to Apache/mod_perl handlers. example 1 (file name): my $template = Template->new({ OUTPUT => "/tmp/foo", }); example 2 (text string): my $output = ''; my $template = Template->new({ OUTPUT => \$output, }); example 3 (file handle): open (TOUT, "> $file") || die "$file: $!\n"; my $template = Template->new({ OUTPUT => \*TOUT, }); example 4 (subroutine): sub output { my $out = shift; print "OUTPUT: $out" } my $template = Template->new({ OUTPUT => \&output, }); example 5 (array reference): my $template = Template->new({ OUTPUT => \@output, }) example 6 (Apache/mod_perl handler): sub handler { my $r = shift; my $t = Template->new({ OUTPUT => $r, }); ... } The default OUTPUT location be overridden by passing a third parameter to the Template process() method. This can be specified as any of the above argument types. $t->process($file, $vars, "/tmp/foo"); $t->process($file, $vars, "bar"); $t->process($file, $vars, \*MYGLOB); $t->process($file, $vars, \@output); $t->process($file, $vars, $r); # Apache::Request ... The OUTPUT_PATH allows a directory to be specified into which output files should be written. An output file can be specified by the OUTPUT option, or passed by name as the third parameter to the Template process() method. my $template = Template->new({ INCLUDE_PATH => "/tmp/src", OUTPUT_PATH => "/tmp/dest", }); my $vars = { ... }; foreach my $file ('foo.html', 'bar.html') { $template->process($file, $vars, $file) || die $template->error(); } This example will read the input files '/tmp/src/foo.html' and '/tmp/src/bar.html' and write the processed output to '/tmp/dest/foo.html' and '/tmp/dest/bar.html', respectively. The DEBUG option can be used to enable debugging within the various different modules that comprise the Template Toolkit. The Template::Constants module defines a set of DEBUG_XXXX constants which can be combined using the logical OR operator, '|'. use Template::Constants qw( :debug ); my $template = Template->new({ DEBUG => DEBUG_PARSER | DEBUG_PROVIDER, }); For convenience, you can also provide a string containing a list of lower case debug options, separated by any non-word characters. my $template = Template->new({ DEBUG => 'parser, provider', }); The following DEBUG_XXXX flags can be used: Enables general debugging messages for the Template::Service module. Enables general debugging messages for the Template::Context module. Enables general debugging messages for the Template::Provider module. Enables general debugging messages for the Template::Plugins module. Enables general debugging messages for the Template::Filters module. This flag causes the Template::Parser to generate debugging messages that show the Perl code generated by parsing and compiling each template. This option causes the Template Toolkit to throw an 'undef' error whenever it encounters an undefined variable value. This option causes the Template Toolkit to generate comments indicating the source file, line and original text of each directive in the template. These comments are embedded in the template output using the format defined in the DEBUG_FORMAT configuration item, or a simple default format if unspecified. For example, the following template fragment: Hello World would generate this output: ## input text line 1 : ## Hello ## input text line 2 : World ## World Enables all debugging messages. This option causes all debug messages that aren't newline terminated to have the file name and line number of the caller appended to them. The DEBUG_FORMAT option can be used to specify a format string for the debugging messages generated via the DEBUG_DIRS option described above. Any occurances of $file, $line or $text will be replaced with the current file name, line or directive text, respectively. Notice how the format is single quoted to prevent Perl from interpolating those tokens as variables. my $template = Template->new({ DEBUG => 'dirs', DEBUG_FORMAT => '<!-- $file line $line : [% $text %] -->', }); The following template fragment: [% foo = 'World' %] Hello [% foo %] would then generate this output: <!-- input text line 2 : [% foo = 'World' %] --> Hello <!-- input text line 3 : [% foo %] -->World The DEBUG directive can also be used to set a debug format within a template. [% DEBUG format '<!-- $file line $line : [% $text %] -->' %]

Caching and Compiling Options
The Template::Provider module caches compiled templates to avoid the need to re-parse template files or blocks each time they are used. The CACHE_SIZE option is used to limit the number of compiled templates that the module should cache. By default, the CACHE_SIZE is undefined and all compiled templates are cached. When set to any positive value, the cache will be limited to storing no more than that number of compiled templates. When a new template is loaded and compiled and the cache is full (i.e. the number of entries == CACHE_SIZE), the least recently used compiled template is discarded to make room for the new one. The CACHE_SIZE can be set to 0 to disable caching altogether. my $template = Template->new({ CACHE_SIZE => 64, # only cache 64 compiled templates }); my $template = Template->new({ CACHE_SIZE => 0, # don't cache any compiled templates }); From version 2 onwards, the Template Toolkit has the ability to compile templates to Perl code and save them to disk for subsequent use (i.e. cache persistence). The COMPILE_EXT option may be provided to specify a filename extension for compiled template files. It is undefined by default and no attempt will be made to read or write any compiled template files. my $template = Template->new({ COMPILE_EXT => '.ttc', }); If COMPILE_EXT is defined (and COMPILE_DIR isn't, see below) then compiled template files with the COMPILE_EXT extension will be written to the same directory from which the source template files were loaded. Compiling and subsequent reuse of templates happens automatically whenever the COMPILE_EXT or COMPILE_DIR options are set. The Template Toolkit will automatically reload and reuse compiled files when it finds them on disk. If the corresponding source file has been modified since the compiled version as written, then it will load and re-compile the source and write a new compiled version to disk. This form of cache persistence offers significant benefits in terms of time and resources required to reload templates. Compiled templates can be reloaded by a simple call to Perl's require(), leaving Perl to handle all the parsing and compilation. This is a Good Thing. The COMPILE_DIR option is used to specify an alternate directory root under which compiled template files should be saved. my $template = Template->new({ COMPILE_DIR => '/tmp/ttc', }); The COMPILE_EXT option may also be specified to have a consistent file extension added to these files. my $template1 = Template->new({ COMPILE_DIR => '/tmp/ttc', COMPILE_EXT => '.ttc1', }); my $template2 = Template->new({ COMPILE_DIR => '/tmp/ttc', COMPILE_EXT => '.ttc2', }); When COMPILE_EXT is undefined, the compiled template files have the same name as the original template files, but reside in a different directory tree. Each directory in the INCLUDE_PATH is replicated in full beneath the COMPILE_DIR directory. This example: my $template = Template->new({ COMPILE_DIR => '/tmp/ttc', INCLUDE_PATH => '/home/abw/templates:/usr/share/templates', }); would create the following directory structure: /tmp/ttc/home/abw/templates/ /tmp/ttc/usr/share/templates/ Files loaded from different INCLUDE_PATH directories will have their compiled forms save in the relevant COMPILE_DIR directory. On Win32 platforms a filename may by prefixed by a drive letter and colon. e.g. C:/My Templates/header The colon will be silently stripped from the filename when it is added to the COMPILE_DIR value(s) to prevent illegal filename being generated. Any colon in COMPILE_DIR elements will be left intact. For example: # Win32 only my $template = Template->new({ DELIMITER => ';', COMPILE_DIR => 'C:/TT2/Cache', INCLUDE_PATH => 'C:/TT2/Templates;D:/My Templates', }); This would create the following cache directories: C:/TT2/Cache/C/TT2/Templates C:/TT2/Cache/D/My Templates

Plugins and Filters
The PLUGINS options can be used to provide a reference to a hash array that maps plugin names to Perl module names. A number of standard plugins are defined (e.g. 'table', 'cgi', 'dbi', etc.) which map to their corresponding Template::Plugin::* counterparts. These can be redefined by values in the PLUGINS hash. my $template = Template->new({ PLUGINS => { cgi => 'MyOrg::Template::Plugin::CGI', foo => 'MyOrg::Template::Plugin::Foo', bar => 'MyOrg::Template::Plugin::Bar', }, }); The USE directive is used to create plugin objects and does so by calling the plugin() method on the current Template::Context object. If the plugin name is defined in the PLUGINS hash then the corresponding Perl module is loaded via require(). The context then calls the load() class method which should return the class name (default and general case) or a prototype object against which the new() method can be called to instantiate individual plugin objects. If the plugin name is not defined in the PLUGINS hash then the PLUGIN_BASE and/or LOAD_PERL options come into effect. If a plugin is not defined in the PLUGINS hash then the PLUGIN_BASE is used to attempt to construct a correct Perl module name which can be successfully loaded. The PLUGIN_BASE can be specified as a single value or as a reference to an array of multiple values. The default PLUGIN_BASE value, 'Template::Plugin', is always added the the end of the PLUGIN_BASE list (a single value is first converted to a list). Each value should contain a Perl package name to which the requested plugin name is appended. example 1: my $template = Template->new({ PLUGIN_BASE => 'MyOrg::Template::Plugin', }); [% USE Foo %] # => MyOrg::Template::Plugin::Foo or Template::Plugin::Foo example 2: my $template = Template->new({ PLUGIN_BASE => [ 'MyOrg::Template::Plugin', 'YourOrg::Template::Plugin' ], }); [% USE Foo %] # => MyOrg::Template::Plugin::Foo or YourOrg::Template::Plugin::Foo or Template::Plugin::Foo If a plugin cannot be loaded using the PLUGINS or PLUGIN_BASE approaches then the provider can make a final attempt to load the module without prepending any prefix to the module path. This allows regular Perl modules (i.e. those that don't reside in the Template::Plugin or some other such namespace) to be loaded and used as plugins. By default, the LOAD_PERL option is set to 0 and no attempt will be made to load any Perl modules that aren't named explicitly in the PLUGINS hash or reside in a package as named by one of the PLUGIN_BASE components. Plugins loaded using the PLUGINS or PLUGIN_BASE receive a reference to the current context object as the first argument to the new() constructor. Modules loaded using LOAD_PERL are assumed to not conform to the plugin interface. They must provide a new() class method for instantiating objects but it will not receive a reference to the context as the first argument. Plugin modules should provide a load() class method (or inherit the default one from the Template::Plugin base class) which is called the first time the plugin is loaded. Regular Perl modules need not. In all other respects, regular Perl objects and Template Toolkit plugins are identical. If a particular Perl module does not conform to the common, but not unilateral, new() constructor convention then a simple plugin wrapper can be written to interface to it. The FILTERS option can be used to specify custom filters which can then be used with the FILTER directive like any other. These are added to the standard filters which are available by default. Filters specified via this option will mask any standard filters of the same name. The FILTERS option should be specified as a reference to a hash array in which each key represents the name of a filter. The corresponding value should contain a reference to an array containing a subroutine reference and a flag which indicates if the filter is static (0) or dynamic (1). A filter may also be specified as a solitary subroutine reference and is assumed to be static. $template = Template->new({ FILTERS => { 'sfilt1' => \&static_filter, # static 'sfilt2' => [ \&static_filter, 0 ], # same as above 'dfilt1' => [ \&dyanamic_filter_factory, 1 ], }, }); Additional filters can be specified at any time by calling the define_filter() method on the current Template::Context object. The method accepts a filter name, a reference to a filter subroutine and an optional flag to indicate if the filter is dynamic. my $context = $template->context(); $context->define_filter('new_html', \&new_html); $context->define_filter('new_repeat', \&new_repeat, 1); Static filters are those where a single subroutine reference is used for all invocations of a particular filter. Filters that don't accept any configuration parameters (e.g. 'html') can be implemented statically. The subroutine reference is simply returned when that particular filter is requested. The subroutine is called to filter the output of a template block which is passed as the only argument. The subroutine should return the modified text. sub static_filter { my $text = shift; # do something to modify $text... return $text; } The following template fragment: [% FILTER sfilt1 %] Blah blah blah. [% END %] is approximately equivalent to: &static_filter("\nBlah blah blah.\n"); Filters that can accept parameters (e.g. 'truncate') should be implemented dynamically. In this case, the subroutine is taken to be a filter 'factory' that is called to create a unique filter subroutine each time one is requested. A reference to the current Template::Context object is passed as the first parameter, followed by any additional parameters specified. The subroutine should return another subroutine reference (usually a closure) which implements the filter. sub dynamic_filter_factory { my ($context, @args) = @_; return sub { my $text = shift; # do something to modify $text... return $text; } } The following template fragment: [% FILTER dfilt1(123, 456) %] Blah blah blah [% END %] is approximately equivalent to: my $filter = &dynamic_filter_factory($context, 123, 456); &$filter("\nBlah blah blah.\n"); See the FILTER directive for further examples.

Compatibility, Customisation and Extension
In version 1 of the Template Toolkit, an optional leading '$' could be placed on any template variable and would be silently ignored. # VERSION 1 [% $foo %] === [% foo %] [% $hash.$key %] === [% hash.key %] To interpolate a variable value the '${' ... '}' construct was used. Typically, one would do this to index into a hash array when the key value was stored in a variable. example: my $vars = { users => { aba => { name => 'Alan Aardvark', ... }, abw => { name => 'Andy Wardley', ... }, ... }, uid => 'aba', ... }; $template->process('user/home.html', $vars) || die $template->error(), "\n"; 'user/home.html': [% user = users.${uid} %] # users.aba Name: [% user.name %] # Alan Aardvark This was inconsistent with double quoted strings and also the INTERPOLATE mode, where a leading '$' in text was enough to indicate a variable for interpolation, and the additional curly braces were used to delimit variable names where necessary. Note that this use is consistent with UNIX and Perl conventions, among others. # double quoted string interpolation [% name = "$title ${user.name}" %] # INTERPOLATE = 1 <img src="$images/help.gif"></a> <img src="$images/${icon.next}.gif"> For version 2, these inconsistencies have been removed and the syntax clarified. A leading '$' on a variable is now used exclusively to indicate that the variable name should be interpolated (e.g. subsituted for its value) before being used. The earlier example from version 1: # VERSION 1 [% user = users.${uid} %] Name: [% user.name %] can now be simplified in version 2 as: # VERSION 2 [% user = users.$uid %] Name: [% user.name %] The leading dollar is no longer ignored and has the same effect of interpolation as '${' ... '}' in version 1. The curly braces may still be used to explicitly scope the interpolated variable name where necessary. e.g. [% user = users.${me.id} %] Name: [% user.name %] The rule applies for all variables, both within directives and in plain text if processed with the INTERPOLATE option. This means that you should no longer (if you ever did) add a leading '$' to a variable inside a directive, unless you explicitly want it to be interpolated. One obvious side-effect is that any version 1 templates with variables using a leading '$' will no longer be processed as expected. Given the following variable definitions, [% foo = 'bar' bar = 'baz' %] version 1 would interpret the following as: # VERSION 1 [% $foo %] => [% GET foo %] => bar whereas version 2 interprets it as: # VERSION 2 [% $foo %] => [% GET $foo %] => [% GET bar %] => baz In version 1, the '$' is ignored and the value for the variable 'foo' is retrieved and printed. In version 2, the variable '$foo' is first interpolated to give the variable name 'bar' whose value is then retrieved and printed. The use of the optional '$' has never been strongly recommended, but to assist in backwards compatibility with any version 1 templates that may rely on this "feature", the V1DOLLAR option can be set to 1 (default: 0) to revert the behaviour and have leading '$' characters ignored. my $template = Template->new({ V1DOLLAR => 1, }); The LOAD_TEMPLATE option can be used to provide a reference to a list of Template::Provider objects or sub-classes thereof which will take responsibility for loading and compiling templates. my $template = Template->new({ LOAD_TEMPLATES => [ MyOrg::Template::Provider->new({ ... }), Template::Provider->new({ ... }), ], }); When a PROCESS, INCLUDE or WRAPPER directive is encountered, the named template may refer to a locally defined BLOCK or a file relative to the INCLUDE_PATH (or an absolute or relative path if the appropriate ABSOLUTE or RELATIVE options are set). If a BLOCK definition can't be found (see the Template::Context template() method for a discussion of BLOCK locality) then each of the LOAD_TEMPLATES provider objects is queried in turn via the fetch() method to see if it can supply the required template. Each provider can return a compiled template, an error, or decline to service the request in which case the responsibility is passed to the next provider. If none of the providers can service the request then a 'not found' error is returned. The same basic provider mechanism is also used for the INSERT directive but it bypasses any BLOCK definitions and doesn't attempt is to parse or process the contents of the template file. This is an implementation of the 'Chain of Responsibility' design pattern as described in "Design Patterns", Erich Gamma, Richard Helm, Ralph Johnson, John Vlissides), Addision-Wesley, ISBN 0-201-63361-2, page 223 . If LOAD_TEMPLATES is undefined, a single default provider will be instantiated using the current configuration parameters. For example, the Template::Provider INCLUDE_PATH option can be specified in the Template configuration and will be correctly passed to the provider's constructor method. my $template = Template->new({ INCLUDE_PATH => '/here:/there', }); The LOAD_PLUGINS options can be used to specify a list of provider objects (i.e. they implement the fetch() method) which are responsible for loading and instantiating template plugin objects. The Template::Content plugin() method queries each provider in turn in a "Chain of Responsibility" as per the template() and filter() methods. my $template = Template->new({ LOAD_PLUGINS => [ MyOrg::Template::Plugins->new({ ... }), Template::Plugins->new({ ... }), ], }); By default, a single Template::Plugins object is created using the current configuration hash. Configuration items destined for the Template::Plugins constructor may be added to the Template constructor. my $template = Template->new({ PLUGIN_BASE => 'MyOrg::Template::Plugins', LOAD_PERL => 1, }); The LOAD_FILTERS option can be used to specify a list of provider objects (i.e. they implement the fetch() method) which are responsible for returning and/or creating filter subroutines. The Template::Context filter() method queries each provider in turn in a "Chain of Responsibility" as per the template() and plugin() methods. my $template = Template->new({ LOAD_FILTERS => [ MyTemplate::Filters->new(), Template::Filters->new(), ], }); By default, a single Template::Filters object is created for the LOAD_FILTERS list. The TOLERANT flag is used by the various Template Toolkit provider modules (Template::Provider, Template::Plugins, Template::Filters) to control their behaviour when errors are encountered. By default, any errors are reported as such, with the request for the particular resource (template, plugin, filter) being denied and an exception raised. When the TOLERANT flag is set to any true values, errors will be silently ignored and the provider will instead return STATUS_DECLINED. This allows a subsequent provider to take responsibility for providing the resource, rather than failing the request outright. If all providers decline to service the request, either through tolerated failure or a genuine disinclination to comply, then a '<resource> not found' exception is raised. A reference to a Template::Service object, or sub-class thereof, to which the Template module should delegate. If unspecified, a Template::Service object is automatically created using the current configuration hash. my $template = Template->new({ SERVICE => MyOrg::Template::Service->new({ ... }), }); A reference to a Template::Context object which is used to define a specific environment in which template are processed. A Template::Context object is passed as the only parameter to the Perl subroutines that represent "compiled" template documents. Template subroutines make callbacks into the context object to access Template Toolkit functionality, for example, to to INCLUDE or PROCESS another template (include() and process() methods, respectively), to USE a plugin (plugin()) or instantiate a filter (filter()) or to access the stash (stash()) which manages variable definitions via the get() and set() methods. my $template = Template->new({ CONTEXT => MyOrg::Template::Context->new({ ... }), }); A reference to a Template::Stash object or sub-class which will take responsibility for managing template variables. my $stash = MyOrg::Template::Stash->new({ ... }); my $template = Template->new({ STASH => $stash, }); If unspecified, a default stash object is created using the VARIABLES configuration item to initialise the stash variables. These may also be specified as the PRE_DEFINE option for backwards compatibility with version 1. my $template = Template->new({ VARIABLES => { id => 'abw', name => 'Andy Wardley', }, }; The Template::Parser module implements a parser object for compiling templates into Perl code which can then be executed. A default object of this class is created automatically and then used by the Template::Provider whenever a template is loaded and requires compilation. The PARSER option can be used to provide a reference to an alternate parser object. my $template = Template->new({ PARSER => MyOrg::Template::Parser->new({ ... }), }); The GRAMMAR configuration item can be used to specify an alternate grammar for the parser. This allows a modified or entirely new template language to be constructed and used by the Template Toolkit. Source templates are compiled to Perl code by the Template::Parser using the Template::Grammar (by default) to define the language structure and semantics. Compiled templates are thus inherently "compatible" with each other and there is nothing to prevent any number of different template languages being compiled and used within the same Template Toolkit processing environment (other than the usual time and memory constraints). The Template::Grammar file is constructed from a YACC like grammar (using Parse::YAPP) and a skeleton module template. These files are provided, along with a small script to rebuild the grammar, in the 'parser' sub-directory of the distribution. You don't have to know or worry about these unless you want to hack on the template language or define your own variant. There is a README file in the same directory which provides some small guidance but it is assumed that you know what you're doing if you venture herein. If you grok LALR parsers, then you should find it comfortably familiar. By default, an instance of the default Template::Grammar will be created and used automatically if a GRAMMAR item isn't specified. use MyOrg::Template::Grammar; my $template = Template->new({ GRAMMAR = MyOrg::Template::Grammar->new(); }); Andy Wardley <abw@andywardley.com> <http://www.andywardley.com/|http://www.andywardley.com/> Template Toolkit version 2.13, released on 30 January 2004. Copyright (C) 1996-2004 Andy Wardley. All Rights Reserved. Copyright (C) 1998-2002 Canon Research Centre Europe Ltd. This module is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl itself.