TYPO3 is Smarter¶

What does it do?¶

'TYPO3 is Smarter' (rtp_smarty) is an extension which integrates the Smarty templating engine into TYPO3 so that you can use Smarty as a templating engine in your extensions.Smarty ( http://smarty.php.net/ ) is a popular template language for designers and programmers.

• Smarty is fast, easy to use and well documented.
• Smarty makes it easier to split extension development between developers and designers: Developers can create the business logic while designers can tweak the presentation layer.
• Smarty offers many advanced features(Variable Modifiers, Template Functions, Filters and Plugins)for handling HTML and PHP data, making extension development easier and faster.

Intended Audience¶

This document is for extension developers who create frontend plugins using the TYPO3 framework. In addition, you should have a basic knowledge of Smarty. If you are interested in learning more about Smarty I recommend the following links:

smarty.php.net

Smarty For Template Designers

ZEND Developer Zone: PHP Templating with Smarty

Smarty Cheat Sheet Version 2.0

Smarty Crash Course

Why is TYPO3 Smarter?¶

If you're familiar with frontend extension development you'll invariably have come across the templating methods the TYPO3 framework offers for frontend extension templating: getSubpart, substituteSubpart, substituteMarker, substituteMarkerArrayCached, substituteMarkerArray, substituteMarkerInObject, fillInMarkerArray. Unfortunately these methods have a few disadvantages:

• They provide only very basic functionality, usage can be complicated and is mainly limited to replacing so called markers (for example ###MY_MARKER###) in templates. Templates tend to become large and unwieldly.
• Presentation logic has to be coded in the extension class, i.e. there is no clean separation between the business and presentation layer.
• Extension templates cannot be localized.

By contrast Smarty is a very powerful templating language which allows you to make a clean seperation between the business and the presentation layer. rtp_smarty was designed to address the deficits of the builtin frontend templating methods by integrating the Smarty library and by offering a set of customized Smarty tags and functions that are specifically geared towards frontend extension templating. rtp_smarty offers the following advantages for extension developers:

• Access to the Smarty templating engine for your extension templates.
• Works with both the traditional pi_base extension development framework and the new lib/div mvc extension development framework.
• Supports template localization.
• Supports other useful TYPO3 features such as link and image generation.
• Has a flexible plugin architecture so that you can add your own tags and functions to your templates.
• Has a debugging console for template development.

((generated))¶

Path to your Smarty installation¶

The Complete Smarty package (currently version 2.6.18) is included in the extension. By default this is the Smarty installation the extension will use. If you'd prefer to use a different Smarty installation or if you have upgraded your Smarty installation to a newer version, simply change the path to your Smarty installation.

Path to your Smarty templates¶

This will define a default location for your Smarty templates. This is the path that Smarty will try to locate your Smarty templates in.

TypoScript Configuration¶

rtp_smarty will interpret any TypoScript settings of the property 'smarty' from your extension as Smarty configuration values. This means you can predefine your Smarty configuration in your extension configuration. The following example from the TypoScript setup file of an extension 'my_ext' sets the Smarty template directory and turns debugging on:

plugin.my_ext {
        smarty {
            template_dir =  EXT:my_ext/templates
         debugging = true
    }
}

Direct Configuration¶

If you prefer you can set Smarty class variables directly in your extension class. If you are familiar with Smarty you will probably feel most comfortable with this approach:

$mySmartyInstance->SmartyVariable = value;

Alternatively you can use the method 'setSmartyVar'. The setSmartyVar method has the advantage that it perfoms basic sanity checks on the variable and the value you pass (for example, it will resolve TYPO3 path references if the variable requires a path). The syntax is:

$mySmartyInstance->setSmartyVar(SmartyVariable, value);

Default Configuration¶

Important: You should always include the static TypoScript template for rtp_smarty, in particular if you want to use the TYPO3 plugins. The default settings for rtp_smarty are:

Step 1: Create an instance of Smarty¶

// New instance of Smarty
$smarty = tx_rtpsmarty::smarty();

Step 2: Pass your data to Smarty¶

// Pass a variable to Smarty
$text = 'Smarty is a template language and a very useful tool for designers and programmers.'
$smarty->assign('info', $text);
// Pass an array to Smarty
$myArray = array('Apple','Banana','Mango','Strawberry');
$smarty->assign('fruit', $myArray);

Step 3: Render your Smarty template¶

// Process the template and return the parsed HTML
$content = $smarty->display('mySmartyTemplate.html');
return $content;

rtp_smarty API reference¶

tx_rtpsmarty::smarty

// Create an instance of Smarty
$this->smarty = tx_rtpsmarty::smarty();
// Create an instance of Smarty with alternative configuration values
$altSmartyConf = array(
 'template_dir' => 'fileadmin/templates/smarty',
 'debugging' => true,
)
$this->altSmarty = tx_rtpsmarty::smarty($altSmartyConf);

setSmartyVar

// Change the template directory
$this->smarty->setSmartyVar('template_dir','EXT_my_ext/templates');
// Enable caching
$this->smarty->setSmartyVar('caching',true);

setPathToLanguageFile

// Define location of language file
$this->smarty->setPathToLanguageFile('fileadmin/lang/locallang.xml');

Debugging Smarty Templates¶

rtp_smarty provides a customized version of the Smarty debug console. To invoke the debug console add the debug tag to your template or configure debugging = true for your Smarty instance:

1. Add the following tag to your Smarty template:

{debug}

(ii) Add the following TypoScript to your extension setup (where “tx_myextension_pi1” is your extension key):

plugin.tx_myextension_pi1.smarty.debugging = true

{translate}¶

plugin.tx_myextension_pi1.smarty.pathToLanguageFile = path/to/my/localization.xml

{translate label=”LLL:path/to/my/localization.xml:the.element.label”}Some text that will be translated{/translate}

$smarty->setPathToLanguageFile('path/to/my/localization.xml');

{translate label=”the.element.label”}Some text to translate.{/translate}

{translate}the.element.label{/translate}

{translate label=”LLL:EXT:my_ext/lang/locallang.xml:the.element.label”}Some text to translate.{/translate}

{link}¶

{link parameter=”59”}About us{/link}

{link parameter=”http://www.google.com _blank external”}Search the web{/link}

{link parameter=”info@rtpartner.ch”}Tell us what you think!{/link}

{link parameter=”fileadmin/files/specs.pdf”}Further reading{/link}

{link parameter=”_self – print” wrap=”<div>|</div>” additionalParams=”&print=1”}Print{/link}

{link setup=”lib.myLink”}Print{/link}

lib.myLink {
   parameter = 59
      AtagParams = class=”board”
}

{link setup=”lib.myLink” parameter=”60”}Print{/link}

lib.myLink {
   parameter = 59
      AtagParams = class=”board”
}

{url}¶

Copy this URL {url parameter=”59”} to your browser navigation toolbar.

{format}¶

{format}
Enthusiastically cultivate go forward process improvements without client-centered results. Collaboratively incentivize <LINK 23>extensive growth</LINK> strategies whereas extensible imperatives. Assertively morph innovative e-business via wireless supply chains.
Enthusiastically formulate stand-alone core competencies via backend convergence.
{/format}

{format setup=”lib.parseFunc”}
Enthusiastically cultivate go forward process improvements without client-centered results. Collaboratively incentivize <LINK 23>extensive growth</LINK> strategies whereas extensible imperatives. Assertively morph innovative e-business via wireless supply chains.
Enthusiastically formulate stand-alone core competencies via backend convergence.
{/translate}

{data}¶

{data source=”page:title”}

{data source=”date:d-m-y”}

{data source=”DB:tt_content:234:header”}

{image}¶

{image file=”fileadmin/files/myPicture.jpg”}

{image file=”fileadmin/files/myPicture.jpg” file.width="100"}

{image setup=”lib.myImage”}

lib.myImage = IMAGE
    file = GIFBUILDER
   file {
              XY = 170, [10.h]
            10  = IMAGE
         10.file = fileadmin/images/background.gif
           20  = IMAGE
         20.file = fileadmin/images/picture.jpg
              20.file.width = 150
         20.offset = 10,10
   }
}

{image setup=”lib.myImage” file.20.file=”fileadmin/images/another_picture.jpg”}