Web Development With PHP FastTemplate - A Rose By Any Other Name...
(Page 9 of 9 )
So that's one look - but now how about changing it so that the quick link boxes appear in a column on the left, with the main story taking up the rest of the page?
With FastTemplate, altering the layout is a snap - it merely involves editing the "main.tpl" and "list.tpl" templates.
<!-- begin: main.tpl -->
<html>
<head>
<basefont face="Verdana">
</head>
<body link="Navy" vlink="Navy" alink="Navy">
<!-- standard header -->
<table width="100%">
<tr>
<td bgcolor=navy height=50> </td>
</tr>
</table>
<table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="10" cellpadding="10">
<tr>
<td valign=top>
{LINKS}
</td>
<td valign=top>
{ARTICLE}
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<!-- standard footer -->
<hr>
<center><font size=-2>All content copyright and proprietary Melonfire,
2001. All rights reserved.</font></center>
</body>
</html>
<!-- end: main.tpl -->
<!-- begin: list.tpl -->
<table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=5>
<tr><td align=center bgcolor="black">
<font color=white><b>{SECTION_TITLE}</b></font>
</td></tr>
<tr><td>
<ul>
{LIST}
</ul>
</td></tr>
</table>
<p>
<!-- end: list.tpl -->
In this case, I've simply set up a new table structure for the main page
to accommodate the new layout. And when I run the PHP script (without changing a single line of code), here's what I get:
Why stop there? Let's do away with the link boxes altogether, and have the links appear in neat rows at the bottom…
<!-- begin: main.tpl -->
<html>
<head>
<basefont face="Verdana">
</head>
<body link="Navy" vlink="Navy" alink="Navy">
<!-- standard header -->
<table width="100%">
<tr>
<td bgcolor=navy height=50> </td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>
{ARTICLE}
<p>
{LINKS}
<!-- standard footer -->
<hr>
<center><font size=-2>All content copyright and proprietary Melonfire,
2001. All rights reserved.</font></center>
</body>
</html>
<!-- end: main.tpl -->
<!-- begin: list.tpl -->
<font size=-1>
New in <b>{SECTION_TITLE}</b>...
<br>
{LIST}
</font>
<p>
<!-- end: list.tpl -->
<!-- begin: listitem.tpl -->
<a href="story.php?id={ID}"><font
size=-1>{ITEM}</font></a>
<!-- end: listitem.tpl -->
In this case, I've altered three of the templates to remove the tables and
list constructs, so that I'm left with a very simple and elegant layout.
As you can see, FastTemplate makes it possible to separate the user interface from the program logic, thereby allowing designers with little or no programming knowledge to alter Web pages quickly and easily. Further - with its ability to nest and repeat chunks of HTML code, it can speed up development time significantly, and also reduce the effort involved in maintaining and modifying a Web application.
That's about it from me. In case you're looking for more information, you should consider visiting the following links:
The FastTemplate home page:
http://www.thewebmasters.net/PHPBuilder's FastTemplate tutorial:
http://www.phpbuilder.com/columns/sascha19990316.php3The original (Perl) FastTemplate module:
http://www.sober.com/Till next time...stay healthy!
| DISCLAIMER: The content provided in this article is not warranted or guaranteed by Developer Shed, Inc. The content provided is intended for entertainment and/or educational purposes in order to introduce to the reader key ideas, concepts, and/or product reviews. As such it is incumbent upon the reader to employ real-world tactics for security and implementation of best practices. We are not liable for any negative consequences that may result from implementing any information covered in our articles or tutorials. If this is a hardware review, it is not recommended to open and/or modify your hardware. |
/ 9 
