Perl Template Toolkit

Chapter 2. Building a Complete Web Site Using the Template Toolkit

This chapter puts the Template Toolkit into context. We show several different ways of using the Template Toolkit to simplify the process of building and managing web site content. We start with some simple examples showing the use of template variables and template components that allow web content to be constructed in a modular fashion. As we progress further into the chapter, we look at more advanced techniques that address the issues of managing the site structure, generating menus and other navigation components, and defining and using complex data.

Although the focus of this chapter is on generating web content, it also serves as a general introduction to the Template Toolkit. It demonstrates techniques that can be adapted to different application areas. This chapter will quickly get you up to speed using the Template Toolkit, but without bogging you down in too much gory detail (we’re saving that for the rest of the book). We come back to the Web to look at more advanced examples of static and dynamic web content in Chapter 11 and Chapter 12.

Although we may touch briefly on some more advanced issues, we try not to bore you with too much detail, except where it is absolutely necessary to illustrate a key point or explain an important concept. Chapter 3 discusses the syntax and structure of templates and the use of variables, while Chapter 4 covers the various template directives. More information relating to ...