HTML::Template::Default - provide multiple template sources and use a default
===============================================
SYNOPSIS
use HTML::Template::Default;
$ENV{HTML_TEMPLATE_ROOT} = "$ENV{DOCUMENT_ROOT}/.templates";
my $tmpl = HTML::Template::Default->new(
filename => 'gallery.html',
scalarref => \q{
<TMPL_VAR TITLE>
},
# ... other options just as you would pass to HTML::Template ...
);
DESCRIPTION
I have code, scripts, and CGI::Application apps, that are in use by multiple clients.
It may be in a shared hosting environment, for example.
Clients, users, want to be able to have radically different looks for an application.
So, I want my scripts to use HTML::Template, to let a web designer make changes to
the template without knowing code.
The most useful way I have of doing this is with this module.
It allows you to provide a default template source as a scalarref, arrayref, or filehandle, in
addition to providing a filename source.
And what this code does, is that if it finds the filename on disk, it will use that, otherwise,
your default provided is used.
Usually HTML::Template crashes if it looks for a filename source and it is not on disk.
It also crashes if you provide multiple sources for a template.
Essentially, this allows you to provide multiple template sources to HTML::Template, the priority
is to use filename source if found, otherwise it uses another source provided.
The files are sought in $ENV{HTML_TEMPLATE_ROOT}, and any 'path' arguments provided to constructor.
Just like HTML::Template works.
So, if the webdesigner or user wants to provide their own template, they simply create the file
on disk, and it's done. No code change, no change of config files, etc.
If anything is wrong, they just delete their template file.
An alternative to using this module..
This module allows me to specify a template for the user without having a file on disk.
Because the other option which should work.. would be to provide multiple paths, and the user's
path first, and then lastly a place where I will have my default template.
Here's how you would use normal HTML::Template to do that..
use HTML::Template;
my $template = HTML::Template->new(
filename => 'gallery.html',
paths => [
"$ENV{DOCUMENT_ROOT}/.templates",
'/shared/.templates',
],
);
This example should work, provided there is a gallery.html file in '/shared/.templates'.
If one is found in "$ENV{DOCUMENT_ROOT}/.templates" first, that one would be used.
The disadvantage of this approach, is that you must have a file on disk at some location
where all users can read, etc.
INSTALLATION
perl Makefile.PL
make test
make install
DEPENDENCIES
Carp
Cwd
HTML::Template
LEOCHARRE::Debug
Test::Simple
COPYRIGHT AND LICENCE
Copyright (C) 2009 by Leo Charre leocharre at cpan dot org
This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
it under the same terms as Perl itself, either Perl version 5.8.8 or,
at your option, any later version of Perl 5 you may have available.