Outerthought :: Template features

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Introduction

Here we give an overview of the features of the Kauri template language, and their current state. We also give a qualification of the importance/urgency of the feature.

Legend:

--	not needed
+	nice to have
++	need to have
+++	blocker (i.e. need to have asap)

Template directives

directive	qualification	note
if...	++
if... else...	--	no added value next to choose when... otherwise...
choose -> when...	++
choose -> otherwise...	++
forEach...	++ ++	repeat number of times ; access to: index, number, (size), (position), revIndex, revNumber foreach x in collection
import <template>	++	@runtime - xslt-alike - local macro's and var assignments overrule the ones in the imported template
include <template>	++	@runtime - xslt-alike - included macro's and var assignments can overrule when include is after the local declaration
insert <url> insert <var>	+++ + +	@runtime - verbatim copy of refered document note: have to think about surpressing e.g. html/body - maybe by having some mild match-path expression syntax @runtime - serialize in sax events from refered object
comment	+	ability to generate comments in output
attribute	++
element	++ +	create an output element with a dynamic name support creation of namespaced elements
macro	+
variable	++ +	create a local alias of an object support dom-trees (maybe implement when adding xpath support ?)

Expression language

expression	qualification	note
true, false	++
and, or, ! (not)	++
==, !=, <, >, <=, >=	++
toUpperCase, toLowerCase	++
substring, left, right	+
trim	+
length	++
concat	--	this can be done implicit, so maybe we don't need a concat expression
date (with formatting options), now	+
startswith, endswith, contains	++
exp ? val1 : val2	++

Advanced topics

topic	qualification	note
taglibs support	++	first attempt
decorator	+	waiting for concrete use case
formatting, i18n	+++	very important - via EL
public uri translate	+++	very important - via EL
function registry	+++	enable through module interface: important
whitespace handling	++	keep in mind
template inheritance mechanism	+++	cfr include and import ; important
XPath support in EL	++	inspiration from xslt - use jxpath (cfr jxtemplate) ? Yes: important (not blocking)
support for groovy expressions	+++	think about it asap : might demand serious refactoring so decisions are important
security aspect	--	possibility to white- or blacklist locations of scripts (e.g. groovy) and templates

Template engine

subject	state	note
template executor		sax based default implementation
template builder		sax based default implementation
template service		first version with some basic caching
junit tests
documentation		some more javadoc, documentation with some drawings to explain how the engine works
restlet/kauri integration		resolver, context (also request, response), caching (compiledtemplate & output) !!!