Re: [Freemarker-devel] Re: [FreeMarker-user] More flexible syntax, a very simple step.
Generates text that depends on changing data (like dynamic HTML).
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From: <Mat...@no...> - 2005-08-22 10:32:11
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> > Well, how would you feel about replacing that > with : so that one can > > write: > > > > ##if condition : > > ... > > /#if > > > > (since neither the opening < or closing > seems particularly necessary > > in </#if> anyway.) The opening and closing delimiters are important. They provide visual cues to the template author that allow them to easily (mentally) parse the template without having to think about whether it is correct (ie. at a glance). Having a visually symetrical pair of delimiters makes template editing far easier. At the moment the only problem with the syntax as I see it, is that the < and > are used in XML/HTML which is the most likely target of FreeMarker templates. The editors are correct when they can't cope with FreeMarker templates - consider that <input value="<@custom.directive 'emailAddress'/>" name="blah"/> is not valid HTML or XML. Would it be technically difficult to allow user-specified characters for the first and last part of the directive delimiters? That would mean that template authors can use <#if condition></#if> or [#if condition][/#if] or anything else they like. This has the advantages that: - The grammar remains the same regardless of the actual glyphs used. - I am guessing that most people will be happy (you can't please all the people!) - perhaps some sort of poll to see whether people want a whole new syntax or just configuration options such as the above, would be a good idea. - Most XML editors will be happy with the outcome (though > will always be a problem) - Easy to see at a glance what delimiters are being used without having to look anything up in the configuration or read any documents. I also think that the idea of supporting multiple grammars is really overcomplicating things so much that other features may suffer as a result and maintenance would be a nightmare! regards Matt |