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.\" ========================================================================
.\"
.IX Title "HTML::Template::FAQ 3"
.TH HTML::Template::FAQ 3 "2013-10-22" "perl v5.16.3" "User Contributed Perl Documentation"
.\" For nroff, turn off justification.  Always turn off hyphenation; it makes
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.SH "NAME"
HTML::Template::FAQ \- Frequently Asked Questions about HTML::Template
.SH "SYNOPSIS"
.IX Header "SYNOPSIS"
In the interest of greater understanding I've started a \s-1FAQ\s0 section of
the perldocs. Please look in here before you send me email.
.SH "FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS"
.IX Header "FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS"
.SS "Is there a place to go to discuss HTML::Template and/or get help?"
.IX Subsection "Is there a place to go to discuss HTML::Template and/or get help?"
There's a mailing-list for discussing HTML::Template at
html\-template\-users@lists.sourceforge.net. Join at:
.PP
.Vb 1
\&   http://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/html\-template\-users
.Ve
.PP
If you just want to get email when new releases are available you can
join the announcements mailing-list here:
.PP
.Vb 1
\&    http://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/html\-template\-announce
.Ve
.SS "Is there a searchable archive for the mailing-list?"
.IX Subsection "Is there a searchable archive for the mailing-list?"
Yes, you can find an archive of the SourceForge list here:
.PP
.Vb 1
\&    http://dir.gmane.org/gmane.comp.lang.perl.modules.html\-template
.Ve
.SS "I want support for <\s-1TMPL_XXX\s0>! How about it?"
.IX Subsection "I want support for <TMPL_XXX>! How about it?"
Maybe. I definitely encourage people to discuss their ideas for
HTML::Template on the mailing list. Please be ready to explain to me
how the new tag fits in with HTML::Template's mission to provide a fast,
lightweight system for using \s-1HTML\s0 templates.
.PP
\&\s-1NOTE:\s0 Offering to program said addition and provide it in the form of
a patch to the most recent version of HTML::Template will definitely
have a softening effect on potential opponents!
.SS "I found a bug, can you fix it?"
.IX Subsection "I found a bug, can you fix it?"
That depends. Did you send me the \s-1VERSION\s0 of HTML::Template, a test
script and a test template? If so, then almost certainly.
.PP
If you're feeling really adventurous, HTML::Template is publicly
available on GitHub (https://github.com/mpeters/html\-template). Please
feel free to fork it and send me a pull request with any changes you have.
.SS "<\s-1TMPL_VAR\s0>s from the main template aren't working inside a <\s-1TMPL_LOOP\s0>! Why?"
.IX Subsection "<TMPL_VAR>s from the main template aren't working inside a <TMPL_LOOP>! Why?"
This is the intended behavior. \f(CW\*(C`<TMPL_LOOP>\*(C'\fR introduces a separate
scope for \f(CW\*(C`<TMPL_VAR>s\*(C'\fR much like a subroutine call in Perl
introduces a separate scope for \f(CW\*(C`my\*(C'\fR variables.
.PP
If you want your \f(CW\*(C`<TMPL_VAR>\*(C'\fRs to be global you can set the
\&\f(CW\*(C`global_vars\*(C'\fR option when you call \f(CW\*(C`new()\*(C'\fR. See above for documentation
of the \f(CW\*(C`global_vars\*(C'\fR \f(CW\*(C`new()\*(C'\fR option.
.SS "How can I pre-load my templates using cache-mode and mod_perl?"
.IX Subsection "How can I pre-load my templates using cache-mode and mod_perl?"
Add something like this to your startup.pl:
.PP
.Vb 2
\&    use HTML::Template;
\&    use File::Find;
\&
\&    print STDERR "Pre\-loading HTML Templates...\en";
\&    find(
\&        sub {
\&            return unless /\e.tmpl$/;
\&            HTML::Template\->new(
\&                filename => "$File::Find::dir/$_",
\&                cache    => 1,
\&            );
\&        },
\&        \*(Aq/path/to/templates\*(Aq,
\&        \*(Aq/another/path/to/templates/\*(Aq
\&    );
.Ve
.PP
Note that you'll need to modify the \f(CW\*(C`return unless\*(C'\fR line to specify
the extension you use for your template files \- I use \fI.tmpl\fR, as you
can see. You'll also need to specify the path to your template files.
.PP
One potential problem: the \fI/path/to/templates/\fR must be \fB\s-1EXACTLY\s0\fR the
same path you use when you call \f(CW\*(C`HTML::Template\->new()\*(C'\fR. Otherwise
the cache won't know they're the same file and will load a new copy \-
instead getting a speed increase, you'll double your memory usage.
To find out if this is happening set \f(CW\*(C`cache_debug =\*(C'\fR 1> in your
application code and look for \*(L"\s-1CACHE MISS\*(R"\s0 messages in the logs.
.SS "What characters are allowed in TMPL_* names?"
.IX Subsection "What characters are allowed in TMPL_* names?"
Numbers, letters, '.', '/', '+', '\-' and '_'.
.SS "How can I execute a program from inside my template?"
.IX Subsection "How can I execute a program from inside my template?"
Short answer: you can't. Longer answer: you shouldn't since this violates
the fundamental concept behind HTML::Template \- that design and code
should be separate.
.PP
But, inevitably some people still want to do it. If that describes
you then you should take a look at HTML::Template::Expr. Using
HTML::Template::Expr it should be easy to write a \f(CW\*(C`run_program()\*(C'\fR
function. Then you can do awful stuff like:
.PP
.Vb 1
\&    <tmpl_var expr="run_program(\*(Aqfoo.pl\*(Aq)">
.Ve
.PP
Just, please, don't tell me about it. I'm feeling guilty enough just
for writing HTML::Template::Expr in the first place.
.SS "What's the best way to create a <select> form element using HTML::Template?"
.IX Subsection "What's the best way to create a <select> form element using HTML::Template?"
There is much disagreement on this issue. My personal preference is
to use \s-1CGI\s0.pm's excellent \f(CW\*(C`popup_menu()\*(C'\fR and \f(CW\*(C`scrolling_list()\*(C'\fR
functions to fill in a single \f(CW\*(C`<tmpl_var select_foo>\*(C'\fR variable.
.PP
To some people this smacks of mixing \s-1HTML\s0 and code in a way that
they hoped HTML::Template would help them avoid. To them I'd say
that \s-1HTML\s0 is a violation of the principle of separating design from
programming. There's no clear separation between the programmatic
elements of the \f(CW\*(C`<form>\*(C'\fR tags and the layout of the \f(CW\*(C`<form>\*(C'\fR tags.  You'll have to draw the line somewhere \- clearly the designer
can't be entirely in charge of form creation.
.PP
It's a balancing act and you have to weigh the pros and cons on each
side. It is certainly possible to produce a \f(CW\*(C`<select>\*(C'\fR element
entirely inside the template. What you end up with is a rat's nest of
loops and conditionals. Alternately you can give up a certain amount of
flexibility in return for vastly simplifying your templates. I generally
choose the latter.
.PP
Another option is to investigate HTML::FillInForm which some have
reported success using to solve this problem.