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Parsing Custom TypoScript

Note

This example will probably seem rather quaint. However it is still useful to illustrate this topic.

Let's imagine that you have created an application in TYPO3, for example a plug-in. You have defined certain parameters editable directly in the form fields of the plug-in content element. However you want advanced users to be able to set up more detailed parameters. But instead of adding a host of such detailed options to the interface - which would just clutter it all up - you rather want advanced users to have a text area field into which they can enter configuration codes based on a little reference you make for them.

The reference could look like this:

Root Level

colors

Scope: TypoScript
type: COLORS

Defining colors for various elements.

adminInfo

Scope: TypoScript
type: ADMINFO

Define administrator contact information for cc-emails

headerImage

Scope: TypoScript
type: file-reference

A reference to an image file relative to the website's path (\TYPO3\CMS\Core\Core\Environment::getPublicPath())

->COLORS

backgroundColor

Scope: TypoScript
type: HTML-color
Default: white

The background color of ...

fontColor

Scope: TypoScript
type: HTML-color
Default: black

The font color of text in ...

popUpColor

Scope: TypoScript
type: HTML-color
Default: #333333

The shadow color of the pop up ...

->ADMINFO

cc_email

Scope: TypoScript
type: string

The email address that ...

cc_name

Scope: TypoScript
type: string

The name of ...

cc_return_adr

Scope: TypoScript
type: string
Default: [servers]

The return address of ...

html_emails

Scope: TypoScript
type: string
Default: false

If set, emails are sent in HTML.

So these are the "objects" and "properties" you have chosen to offer to your users of the plug-in. This reference defines what information makes sense to put into the TypoScript field (semantically), because you will program your application to use this information as needed.

A Case Story

Now let's imagine that a user inputs this TypoScript configuration in whatever medium you have offered (e.g. a textarea field):

colors {
  backgroundColor = red
  fontColor = blue
}
adminInfo {
  cc_email = email@email.com
  cc_name = Copy Name
}
showAll = true

[ip("123.45.*")]

  headerImage = fileadmin/img1.jpg

[ELSE]

  headerImage = fileadmin/img2.jpg

[GLOBAL]

// Wonder if this works... :-)
wakeMeUp = 7:00

In order to parse this TypoScript we can use the following code provided that the variable $tsString contains the above TypoScript as its value:

$TSparserObject = \TYPO3\CMS\Core\Utility\GeneralUtility::makeInstance(\TYPO3\CMS\Core\TypoScript\Parser\TypoScriptParser::class);
$TSparserObject->parse($tsString);

echo '<pre>';
print_r($TSparserObject->setup);
echo '</pre>';

As you can see, this is really as simple as creating an instance of the TypoScriptParser class and requesting it to parse the configuration contained in variable $tsString. The result is located in $TSparserObject->setup.

The result of this code will be this:

Array
(
  [colors.] => Array
  (
    [backgroundColor] => red
    [fontColor] => blue
  )

  [adminInfo.] => Array
  (
    [cc_email] => email@email.com
    [cc_name] => Copy Name
  )

  [showAll] => true
  [headerImage] => fileadmin/img2.jpg
  [wakeMeUp] => 7:00
)

Now your application could use this information like this, for example:

echo '
     <table bgcolor="' . $TSparserObject->setup['colors.']['backgroundColor'] . '">
          <tr>
               <td>
                    <font color="' . $TSparserObject->setup['colors.']['fontColor'] . '">HELLO WORLD!</font>
               </td>
          </tr>
     </table>
';

As you can see some of the TypoScript properties (or object paths) which are found in the reference tables above are implemented here. There is not much mystique about this and in fact this is how all TypoScript is used in its respective contexts; TypoScript contains simply configuration values that make our underlying PHP code act accordingly - parameters, function arguments, as you please; TypoScript is an API to instruct an underlying system.

This example also highlights one of the "risk" of TypoScript: it is perfectly possible to define arbitrary properties without triggering any error. Wrongly-named properties will just be ignored. As such they do not cause any harm, but may be confusing at a later stage if they are left around.