What Is TypoScript?

People are often confused about what TypoScript (TS) is, where it can be used and have a tendency to think of it as something complex. This chapter has been written in the hope of clarifying these issues.

First let's start with a basic truth:

  • TypoScript is a syntax for defining information in a hierarchical structure using simple ASCII text content.

This means that:

  • TypoScript itself does not "do" anything - it just contains information.
  • TypoScript is only transformed into function when it is passed to a program which is designed to act according to the information in a TypoScript information structure.

So strictly speaking TypoScript has no function in itself, only when used in a certain context. Since the context is almost always to configure something you can often understand TypoScript as parameters (or function arguments) passed to a function which acts accordingly (e.g. background_color = red). And on the contrary you will probably never see TypoScript used to store information like a database of addresses - you would use XML or SQL for that.

PHP arrays

In the scope of its use you can also understand TypoScript as a non- strict way to enter information into a multidimensional array . In fact when TypoScript is parsed, it is transformed into a PHP array ! So when would you define static information in PHP arrays? You would do that in configuration files - but probably not to build your address database!

This can be summarized as follows:

  • When TypoScript is parsed it means that the information is transformed into a PHP array from where TYPO3 applications can access it.
  • So the same information could in fact be defined in TypoScript or directly in PHP; but the syntax would be different for the two of course.
  • TypoScript offers convenient features which is the reason why we don't just define the information directly with PHP syntax into arrays. These features include a relaxed handling of syntax errors, definition of values with less language symbols needed and the ability of using an object/property metaphor, etc.

TypoScript syntax, object paths, objects and properties

See, that is what this chapter is about - the syntax of TypoScript; the rules you must obey in order to store information in this structure. Obviously we'll not explain the full syntax here again but just give an example to convey the idea.

Remember it is about storing information, so think about TypoScript as assigning values to variables : The "variables" are called "object paths" because TypoScript easily lends itself to the metaphor of "objects" and "properties". This has some advantages as we shall see but at the same time TypoScript is designed to allow a very simple and straight forward assignment of values; simply by using the equal sign as an operator:

asdf = qwerty
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Now the object path "asdf" contains the value "qwerty".

Another example:

asdf.zxcvbnm = uiop
asdf.backgroundColor = blue
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Now the object path "asdf.zxcvbnm" contains the value "uiop" and "asdf.backgroundColor" contains the value "blue". According to the syntax of TypoScript this could also have been written more comfortably as:

asdf {
  zxcvbnm = uiop
  backgroundColor = blue
}
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What happened here is that we broke down the full object path, "asdf.zxcvbnm" into its components "asdf" and "zxcvbnm" which are separated by a period, ".", and then we used the curly brace operators, { and } , to bind them together again. To describe this relationship of the components of an object path we normally call "asdf" the object and "zxcvbnm" the property of that object.

So although the terms objects and properties normally hint at some context (semantics) we may also use them purely to describe the various parts of an object path without considering the context and meaning. Consider this:

asdf {
  zxcvbnm = uiop
  backgroundColor = blue
  backgroundColor.transparency = 95%
}
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Here we can say that "zxcvbnm" and "backgroundColor" are properties of (the object) "asdf". Further, "transparency" is a property of (the object / the property) "backgroundColor" (or "asdf.backgroundColor").

Note about perceived semantics

You may now think that "backgroundColor = blue" makes more sense than "zxcvbnm = uiop" but having a look at the syntax only it doesn't! The only reason that "backgroundColor = blue" seems to make sense is that in the English language we understand the words "background color" and "blue" and automatically imply some meaning. We understand the semantics of it. But to a machine like a computer the word "backgroundColor" makes just as little sense as "zxcvbnm" unless it has been programmed to understand either one, e.g. to take its value as the background color for something. In fact "uiop" could be an alias for blue color values and "zxcvbnm" could be programmed as the property setting the background color of something.

This just serves to point one thing out: Although most programming languages and also TypoScript use function, method, keyword and property names which humans can often deduct some meaning from, it ultimately is the programming reference, DTD or XML-Schema which defines the meaning.

Note about the internal structure when parsed into a PHP array

Let's take the TypoScript from above as an example:

asdf {
  zxcvbnm = uiop
  backgroundColor = blue
  backgroundColor.transparency = 95%
}
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When parsed, this information will be stored in a PHP array which could be defined as follows:

$TS['asdf.']['zxcvbnm'] = 'uiop';
$TS['asdf.']['backgroundColor'] = 'blue';
$TS['asdf.']['backgroundColor.']['transparency'] = '95%';
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Or alternatively you could define the information in that PHP array like this:

$TS = [
    'asdf.' => [
        'zxcvbnm' => 'uiop',
        'backgroundColor' => 'blue',
        'backgroundColor.' => [
            'transparency' => '95%'
        ]
    ]
]
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The information inside a PHP array like that one is used by TYPO3 to apply the configurations, which you have set.

Credits

This chapter was formerly maintained by Michael Stucki and Francois Suter. Additions have been made by Sebastian Michaelsen. The updates for recent versions were done by Christopher Stelmaszyk and Francois Suter.