Separation of PHP and HTML

XinXang

Where can find some EXCELLENT examples of scripts where the PHP is completely separated from the HTML?

i'd like to see some perfect examples after which to model my own style of coding and design.

weekender

you might want to consider using a templating engine - i use smarty from http://smarty.php.net

XinXang

so when php is sep from html, the only thing the html'r works with is variables?

ShawnK

By HTML'r I assume you mean the person that makes the template. But the answer to your question is no. You do not use variables. You don't even use a single bit of php in the templates.

The templates look something like this:

<HTML>
<HEAD>
<TITLE>{title}</TITLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY>
{content}
</BODY>
</HTML>

The engine takes the entire HTML content by using file_get_content() and then runs a whole bunch or str_replace()'s and then it outputs the whole thing.

Kudose

Answer to your first post:

I think that one of the best ways is going to http://www.php.net and looking at the functions. After grasping the general idea behind the function, read the user contributed entries. They have great ideas and code structures. Usually...

XinXang

Originally posted by ShawnK
By HTML'r I assume you mean the person that makes the template. But the answer to your question is no. You do not use variables. You don't even use a single bit of php in the templates.

The templates look something like this:

<HTML>
<HEAD>
<TITLE>{title}</TITLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY>
{content}
</BODY>
</HTML>

The engine takes the entire HTML content by using file_get_content() and then runs a whole bunch or str_replace()'s and then it outputs the whole thing.

Is there somewhere i can see a working script that actually does this? I understand functions and all that...I just don't understand how a page that is exclusively HTML combines with my page that is exclusively PHP and knows where to insert all the information...

I think I need to see the code to actually understand what's going on.

XinXang

is there anyone who can point me to good examples of php separated from the html template like ShawnK was talking about? I'm having a hard time understanding how this works in practice, although i hear a lot of people talking about it. and the php tutorial books i've been using all mix their php into their html.

weekender

the html page is parsed by the php templating engine, which inserts the variables

so the page is purely html and still gets worked by php

XinXang

sorry if i sound really dumb here, but what is it parsing to know where to put the variables? can this separation then only be done by a template engine specialized for doing this?

so it's not like i can just write my own simple php script, and then make my html page separately and then have the two come together? it's only something i can do in smarty or a similar template engine?

Davy

Template.php

<body>
{ Web Title }
<hr />
{ Current Intro }
</body>

^ This is the most basic html template.

Foo.php

$title = "Introduction to templates";
$intro = "INTROOOO! Hello!";

get_file_contents(template.php);

 str_replace("{ Web Title }", $title);
 str_replace("{ Current Intro }", $intro);

^ This is the php that takes the template and replaces the 'place holders'. Very basic, very messy and probably full of bugs but that should give you an idea.

XinXang

ooooh, i think i'm starting to get this...

so you've got your HTML file, and maybe you've got placeholder text as header titles, and the php is trained to parse the html and replace your placeholder text with whatever it needs to...

k, i'm gonna give this a try and see if i really get it.

Kudose

you've got it now...

Davy

A proper template would have the contents in a database and there'd be ALOT mroe to it then what I have done.

I'm not even sure if the way I did it is how it's down properlly anyway.

I'd such using an existing template engine. Probably even a small amateur one to get the basics.

Or even read a templating tutorial from the web...?

XinXang

i found this templating tutorial which explains the concept very well and has great code examples of very simple (read😃ummy Proof) template concepts, especially detailing a system of templating which uses PHP itself (so you do get php in the html, but it's only at the same places where you would have to put brackets for smarty or other template engine.)

http://www.sitepoint.com/article/beyond-template-engine/3

I see the magic now and i will follow this path...