xTemplate - XML based templates

An XML based template system for web developers. This will originally be designed to work with PHP, but the main requirement is that the template language will be flexible enough to translate into any programming language.

The implementation will be based partly on the Smarty template system for PHP and the XML based Stylsheet language, XSL. We'll take the best of both languages to create an extensible platform independant template language.

Contributors:

• visualAd
• Penagate
• sciguyryan

If you want in, send any of us a PM. We have plenty of tasks going. I shall post a list of requirements shortly.

Wiki page - specs + indepth docs to go there

I am a fairly extensive PHP developer myself, and this project seems interesting except for one little problem. I do not understand exactly what it does...

Does it turn like XSL commands into code on a page, or what exactly does it do, I suppose I am a little confused.

If you could tell me a little more in depth (I read the wiki, but that didn't help much) that would be greatly appreciated.

(Of course it could be the fact that I do not understand XML/XSL all to well either :))

Sorry about the wiki, I am waiting for visualAd to get off his posterior and finish the syntax. I am not too flash with XML/XSL either.

The basic concept is thus, the templates are to be written in XML. The template engine will use an XSL stylesheet to transform the XML templates into HTML with embedded PHP PI's (processing instructions) which can then be directly parsed and outputted as a normal HTML+PHP document would be. Like Smarty, the actual template parsing (XSL transform) need only take place once, when the template is updated - after that it is cached and run as PHP code.

The use of XSL saves us mucking about with actual parsing, since we can start from the versatile and easily extendable platform of XML. It should also be backwards, and possibly forwards, compatable.

And also, the end result should be adaptable to other languages, not just HTML and PHP.

OK, I understand now I think, so basically it is a quick way to edit a large website?

I am sorry guys. I've had a very busy week with a project at work. Unfortunatly this has to take a back seat. Hopefully I can sit down next week and get the syntax for the templates sorted :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Seraphino

OK, I understand now I think, so basically it is a quick way to edit a large website?

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Yea, that's it.

I am also building a CMS of which this will be a component.

Thanks a bunch for helping me understand what this is :). Sounds interesting and I can't wait to see how it is going to turn out. Good Luck!