README
1
2Text::Template v1.46
3
4This is a library for generating form letters, building HTML pages, or
5filling in templates generally. A `template' is a piece of text that
6has little Perl programs embedded in it here and there. When you
7`fill in' a template, you evaluate the little programs and replace
8them with their values.
9
10Here's an example of a template:
11
12 Dear {$title} {$lastname},
13
14 It has come to our attention that you are delinquent in your
15 {$monthname[$last_paid_month]} payment. Please remit
16 ${sprintf("%.2f", $amount)} immediately, or your patellae may
17 be needlessly endangered.
18
19 Love,
20
21 Mark "{nickname(rand 20)}" Dominus
22
23
24The result of filling in this template is a string, which might look
25something like this:
26
27 Dear Mr. Gates,
28
29 It has come to our attention that you are delinquent in your
30 February payment. Please remit
31 $392.12 immediately, or your patellae may
32 be needlessly endangered.
33
34
35 Love,
36
37 Mark "Vizopteryx" Dominus
38
39You can store a template in a file outside your program. People can
40modify the template without modifying the program. You can separate
41the formatting details from the main code, and put the formatting
42parts of the program into the template. That prevents code bloat and
43encourages functional separation.
44
45You can fill in the template in a `Safe' compartment. This means that
46if you don't trust the person who wrote the code in the template, you
47won't have to worry that they are tampering with your program when you
48execute it.
49
50----------------------------------------------------------------
51
52Text::Template was originally released some time in late 1995 or early
531996. After three years of study and investigation, I rewrote it from
54scratch in January 1999. The new version, 1.0, was much faster,
55delivered better functionality and was almost 100% backward-compatible
56with the previous beta versions.
57
58I have added a number of useful features and conveniences since the
591.0 release, while still retaining backward compatibility. With one
60merely cosmetic change, the current version of Text::Template passes
61the test suite that the old beta versions passed.
62
63
