Re: Re: template engine choices (was Re: [PHP] template engine...why???)

"Ryan A" <ryan@jumac.com> wrote in message news:005e01c30fd6$e627eca0$1301400a@l2zcaxu7emppqh... > But in the next few weeks I may be working on a big project and I think I > might be needing a templating system to work with, I know you are connected > with TT (as a developer or owner I dont know), I have visited your site and > found little details... I am both actually :) > I was originally thinking of going with SMARTY as that seems to be the > popular choice for some time for people I know... Smarty is by all means very well known and established with many happy users. I also believe it is currently most popular template system, although recent php kitchen poll points patTemplate as most popular: http://www.phpkitchen.com/pollbooth.php?qid=bestTemplateEngine&aid=-1 > a few questions if you dont mind: > (most important) Is TT free like SMARTY? :-) No. TT is closest to shareware, and it commes in two flavours: - Free edition: free of charge, includes promotional link in the footer of all generated pages. You can use this version without time limit. The developer environment (the one you are using while developing, not the pages generated with) occasionaly promotes Developer's edition. - Developer's edition: costs $28, you can use it to produce unlimited number of the sites with. > Learning curve? Probably steep, especially because: - it has "other way around" feeling to it, which one needs to get comfortable with - i am not very skilled with documentation. I try to step in with extra advice whenever I can to compensate for that, but it is not somethhing I can promise, especially if suddenly larger number people write to me. > can you give me a few features that TT has that SMARTY fails at? it would not be fair to say that SMARTY fails, since it has many users, and many of them are very happy. The main differences are in approach, and focus. Here are the main differences: SMARTY - includes logic of the templates within a template, you define logic in form of SMARTY expressions. - SMARTY does not come with development environment. It is basically library and runtime system that you install. - established, with large user base TT - logic is in php files separated from templates. Logic is defined in php language. - TT commes with development environment; editor, project, tree view of your template structure, simple code wizard. - TT requires you to use at least some OO. For each page you need to define a coresponding class. If OO is not your preffered approach this can be an obstacle. Othervise I believe it leads to nicer design where you develop hierarchy of classes for pages, where you have a general class describing elements common to all pages on your site, and than you gradually add specialization in each page. Also you usually develop classes that drive common elements or components on your site. - TT is new, at least in public. I have been using it for about 2,5 years in my projects, but only recently put it out as product. > Any suggestions advise also welcome. No, except that if you would have some questions about your project, like "how would I go on doing this in TT", or "what would be a best way to solve/divide/organize/approach this with TT", you could drop me an e-mail, and I will try to give advice on it. It is beneficiall for me in 2 ways, it might help spread TT and at same time gives me idea about usuall problems and questions. rush (a.k.a. rush the butcher ;) -- http://www.templatetamer.com/