Overview

Templates (or views) are HTML files that would be displayed when a specific URL is accessed. The files are placed in the views/ directory of the project.

File Naming Convention

• View file: views/contact.html
  This would be displayed at the /contact URL
• View file: views/about-us.html
  This would be displayed at the /about-us URL

Sub-sections

Subsections are smaller parts of a template that can be included in other templates to avoid repetition and improve organization.

Important: If the path starts with a slash (e.g. /sections/header.html) it would be considered relative to the top views/ directory. If it doesn't start with a slash (e.g. sections/header.html) it would be considered relative to the current template file.

Use the following syntax to include files in the main template:

<!--include:sections/common/header.html-->
<!--include:/sections/common/header.html-->

Sub-sections with variables

Sometimes you may want to pass variables to the included template:

<!--include:sections/header.html ["something" => "value"]-->
<!--include:/sections/header.html ["something" => "value"]-->

With that example there would be a variable named something available in the included template with the value value. You can use it with <!--$something--> in the sections/header.html

It's important to note that variables passed from the actions would overwrite the variables passed to the included template.

Simple Variables

Use <!--$variable--> to display simple values:

<h1><!--$title--></h1>
<p>Total items: <!--$count--></p>

Array Access

Access array elements using <!--$array["key"]-->:

<p>Name: <!--$user["name"]--></p>
<p>Email: <!--$user["email"]--></p>

Foreach Loops

Loop through arrays using <!--foreach()-->:

Simple Loop (Value Only)

<!--foreach($products as $product)-->
<div>
<h3><!--$product[name]--></h3>
<p><!--$product[price]--></p>
</div>
<!--endforeach-->

Loop with Key and Value

<!--foreach($items as $key=>$value)-->
<p>Item #<!--$key-->: <!--$value[name]--></p>
<!--endforeach-->

If Statements

Show or hide content based on conditions:

Positive Condition (if truthy)

<!--if($user_logged_in)-->
<p>Welcome back!</p>
<!--endif-->

Negative Condition (if falsy)

<!--if(!$error)-->
<p>Everything looks good!</p>
<!--endif-->

With Array Access

<!--if($user["premium"])-->
<p>Premium features unlocked!</p>
<!--endif-->

<!--if(!$user["verified"])-->
<p>Please verify your email</p>
<!--endif-->

Truthiness rules:

• Truthy: non-empty strings, numbers (including 0), true, non-empty arrays
• Falsy: empty strings, null, false, undefined variables

Helpers

CSRF Token

Use <!--csrf--> to render a CSRF token input field in forms:

<form action="/contact">
    <!--csrf-->
    <input type="email" name="email" />
    <input type="submit" value="Submit" />
</form>

Use <!--csrf_token--> to render just the CSRF token value:

<!--csrf_token-->

Outputs something like 2e6094ee18b504915519fc16f2d605e35e4e167f73e242c273fe70be31911e1c

Flash Messages

Use <!--flush--> to display all flash messages.

<!--flush-->     // Display all flash messages
<!--flush:key--> // Display flash messages of a specific type

Flash messages are wrapped in a div with a type specific class for styling purposes for example:

<div class="flash-success">Success message here</div>

Date Shortcodes

Use <!--date [format]--> to display the current date/time in various formats. If no format is provided, the default format Y-m-d H:i:s is used.

<!--date-->               // Current date/time in default format
<!--date Y-->             // Just the year
<!--date d/m/Y-->         // Date in day/month/year format
<!--date F j, Y-->       // Full month name, day, year
<!--date l, F j, Y-->    // Day of week, full month name, day, year

Examples:

<!--date-->               - Returns current date/time in default format: 2026-01-08 14:30:45
<!--date Y-->             - Returns just the year: 2026
<!--date d/m/Y-->         - Returns date in day/month/year format: 08/01/2026
<!--date F j, Y-->       - Returns: January 8, 2026
<!--date l, F j, Y-->    - Returns: Wednesday, January 8, 2026
Any valid PHP date format parameter works

Pagination

Use <!--pagination--> to display a basic pagination navigation.

<!--pagination-->   // Pagination with default 10 items per page
<!--pagination 50-->   // Pagination with default 10 items per page

The pagination rely on a page parameter in the url e.g. https://server.com/users?page=2 it would show the records from 11 to 20 if there are more than 10 records.

The action should pass a variable called totalRecords which should contain the total number of records to paginate. See pagionation example in the Examples section.