smarty

Smarty is a template engine for PHP, facilitating the separation of presentation (HTML/CSS) from application logic.

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Quick Overview

Smarty is a popular template engine for PHP, which allows developers to separate the presentation logic from the application logic. It provides a powerful and flexible way to manage the HTML output of a web application, making it easier to maintain and update the user interface.

Pros

Separation of Concerns: Smarty helps to separate the presentation logic from the application logic, making the code more modular and easier to maintain.
Template Inheritance: Smarty supports template inheritance, which allows developers to create a base template and extend it with child templates, reducing code duplication.
Caching: Smarty provides built-in caching capabilities, which can significantly improve the performance of a web application by reducing the time required to generate and render the HTML output.
Extensive Plugin System: Smarty has a rich ecosystem of plugins that extend its functionality, allowing developers to easily add new features and functionality to their web applications.

Cons

Learning Curve: Smarty has a steeper learning curve compared to some other template engines, as it introduces its own syntax and concepts that developers need to learn.
Performance Overhead: While Smarty's caching capabilities can improve performance, the additional processing required to parse and render the templates can introduce some overhead, especially for simple web applications.
Dependency on PHP: Smarty is tightly coupled with the PHP programming language, which may be a limitation for developers who need to use other programming languages in their web applications.
Limited Flexibility: Smarty's template syntax and structure can be restrictive, which may make it difficult to implement complex or custom UI designs.

Code Examples

Here are a few examples of how to use Smarty in a PHP web application:

Rendering a Template:

<?php
// Instantiate the Smarty object
$smarty = new Smarty();

// Assign variables to the template
$smarty->assign('title', 'My Web Page');
$smarty->assign('content', 'This is the content of my web page.');

// Display the template
$smarty->display('index.tpl');
?>

Using Template Inheritance:

{* base.tpl *}
<html>
<head>
    <title>{block name="title"}{/block}</title>
</head>
<body>
    {block name="content"}{/block}
</body>
</html>

{* child.tpl *}
{extends file="base.tpl"}
{block name="title"}My Child Page{/block}
{block name="content"}
    <h1>Welcome to my child page!</h1>
    <p>This is the content of my child page.</p>
{/block}

Utilizing Plugins:

{* index.tpl *}
<h1>{$title|escape}</h1>
<p>{$content|truncate:50:"..."}</p>
{button href="https://example.com" text="Click me!"}

Getting Started

To get started with Smarty, follow these steps:

Install Smarty using Composer:

composer require smarty/smarty

Create a new Smarty instance and configure it:

<?php
// Instantiate the Smarty object
$smarty = new Smarty();

// Set the template directory
$smarty->setTemplateDir('path/to/templates');

// Set the compiled templates directory
$smarty->setCompileDir('path/to/compiled_templates');
?>

Assign variables to the template and display it:

<?php
// Assign variables to the template
$smarty->assign('title', 'My Web Page');
$smarty->assign('content', 'This is the content of my web page.');

// Display the template
$smarty->display('index.tpl');
?>

Create the index.tpl template file in the path/to/templates directory:

<html>
<head>
    <title>{$title}</title>
</head>
<body>
    <h1>{$title}</h1>
    <p>{$content}</p>
</body>
</html

Competitor Comparisons

Twig

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Twig, the flexible, fast, and secure template language for PHP

Pros of Twig

Faster performance due to compiled templates
Better integration with modern PHP frameworks like Symfony
Stricter syntax, leading to fewer errors and better code quality

Cons of Twig

Steeper learning curve for developers familiar with PHP-like syntax
Less flexibility in terms of custom functions and modifiers

Code Comparison

Smarty:

{foreach $users as $user}
    <li>{$user.name|capitalize} ({$user.age})</li>
{/foreach}

Twig:

{% for user in users %}
    <li>{{ user.name|capitalize }} ({{ user.age }})</li>
{% endfor %}

Both Smarty and Twig are popular templating engines for PHP, each with its own strengths. Twig offers better performance and integration with modern frameworks, while Smarty provides a more PHP-like syntax that may be easier for some developers to adopt. The code comparison shows that both engines have similar syntax for common operations like loops and filters, but Twig uses a more distinct template syntax. Ultimately, the choice between Smarty and Twig often depends on the specific project requirements and the development team's preferences.

templating

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Pros of Symfony Templating

More lightweight and flexible, allowing for easier integration with other components
Better performance due to its streamlined architecture
Follows modern PHP practices and PSR standards

Cons of Symfony Templating

Steeper learning curve for developers new to Symfony ecosystem
Less extensive documentation compared to Smarty
Fewer built-in functions and plugins out of the box

Code Comparison

Smarty:

{foreach $users as $user}
    <li>{$user.name|capitalize}</li>
{/foreach}

Symfony Templating:

{% for user in users %}
    <li>{{ user.name|capitalize }}</li>
{% endfor %}

Both templating engines offer similar syntax for loops and variable output. Smarty uses curly braces {} for its tags, while Symfony Templating uses {% %} for control structures and {{ }} for variable output. Both support filters (e.g., capitalize) applied to variables.

Symfony Templating is part of the larger Symfony framework, providing seamless integration with other Symfony components. Smarty, on the other hand, is a standalone templating engine that can be easily integrated into various PHP projects.

While Smarty has been around longer and has a larger community, Symfony Templating benefits from being part of a modern, actively developed framework with regular updates and improvements.

mustache

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Logic-less Ruby templates.

Pros of Mustache

Simpler syntax and easier to learn
Language-agnostic, with implementations in many programming languages
Logic-less templates, promoting better separation of concerns

Cons of Mustache

Less powerful and flexible compared to Smarty's feature-rich environment
Limited built-in functions and modifiers
May require more logic in the controller/presenter layer

Code Comparison

Mustache:

{{#items}}
  <li>{{name}}: {{price}}</li>
{{/items}}

Smarty:

{foreach $items as $item}
  <li>{$item.name}: {$item.price}</li>
{/foreach}

Key Differences

Syntax: Mustache uses double curly braces {{}}, while Smarty uses single curly braces {}
Logic: Mustache is logic-less, whereas Smarty allows for more complex logic within templates
Extensibility: Smarty offers plugins and custom functions, while Mustache focuses on simplicity
Learning curve: Mustache is generally easier to pick up, especially for beginners
Performance: Smarty often has better performance due to its compilation process

Use Cases

Mustache: Ideal for simple templates, multi-language projects, and when strict separation of logic is desired
Smarty: Better suited for complex templates, PHP-specific projects, and when more control over template logic is needed