CGI::Ex::Template(3)

💖 CGI::Ex::Template 💖

okay bestie, so this is the manual page for CGI::Ex::Template from the User Contributed Perl Documentation collection — yes that's the manual name, we're keeping it, it's iconic — and she is literally a Template::Alloy based TT2/TT3/HT/HTE/Tmpl/Velocity engine. six template dialects in one module. main character energy fr fr. 🎀

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✨ VERSION ✨

version 2.55 💅

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🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

no cap, here's how you actually use her. she speaks so many languages and you can pick whichever one is your vibe today.

🌸 Template::Toolkit style usage

my $t = Template::Alloy->new(
    INCLUDE_PATH => ['/path/to/templates'],
);

my $swap = {
    key1 => 'val1',
    key2 => 'val2',
    code => sub { 42 },
    hash => {a => 'b'},
};

# print to STDOUT
$t->process('my/template.tt', $swap)
    || die $t->error;

# process into a variable
my $out = '';
$t->process('my/template.tt', $swap, \$out);

### Alloy uses the same syntax and configuration as Template::Toolkit

like, you pass your INCLUDE_PATH, you build your little $swap hash of values, and then either let her print straight to STDOUT or catch the output in a variable by passing a scalar ref. and yes — she uses the exact same syntax and configuration as Template::Toolkit, so if you already know TT, you already know her. periodt. 💜

🧚 HTML::Template::Expr style usage

my $t = Template::Alloy->new(
    filename => 'my/template.ht',
    path     => ['/path/to/templates'],
);

my $swap = {
    key1 => 'val1',
    key2 => 'val2',
    code => sub { 42 },
    hash => {a => 'b'},
};

$t->param($swap);

# print to STDOUT (errors die)
$t->output(print_to => \*STDOUT);

# process into a variable
my $out = $t->output;

### Alloy can also use the same syntax and configuration as HTML::Template

different vibe, same queen. here you give her a filename and a path, shove your values in with param, and then call output. heads up: when you call output and print to STDOUT, errors die — so like, she will not be quiet about it bestie. 😭 and yeah, she can run the same syntax and configuration as HTML::Template too.

🌈 Text::Tmpl style usage

my $t = Template::Alloy->new;

my $swap = {
    key1 => 'val1',
    key2 => 'val2',
    code => sub { 42 },
    hash => {a => 'b'},
};

$t->set_delimiters('#[', ']#');
$t->set_strip(0);
$t->set_values($swap);
$t->set_dir('/path/to/templates');

my $out = $t->parse_file('my/template.tmpl');

my $str = "Foo #[echo $key1]# Bar";
my $out = $t->parse_string($str);

### Alloy uses the same syntax and configuration as Text::Tmpl

now we're in Text::Tmpl territory — you set your own delimiters with set_delimiters('#[', ']#'), you set strip with set_strip(0), you drop your values in with set_values, and you tell her where to look with set_dir('/path/to/templates'). then it's parse_file for files or parse_string for a raw string. obsessed. and yep, same syntax and configuration as Text::Tmpl. 🔥

⭐ Velocity (VTL) style usage

my $t = Template::Alloy->new;

my $swap = {
    key1 => 'val1',
    key2 => 'val2',
    code => sub { 42 },
    hash => {a => 'b'},
};

my $out = $t->merge('my/template.vtl', $swap);

my $str = "#set($foo 1 + 3) ($foo) ($bar) ($!baz)";
my $out = $t->merge(\$str, $swap);

and finally, Velocity VTL mode — you just merge a file path, or merge a reference to a string if you wanna go inline. look at that #set($foo 1 + 3) doing math in a template like she's unbothered. iconic. 👑

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💀 DESCRIPTION 💀

okay so, lore time. CGI::Ex::Template is the original base for the code that is now Template::Alloy. Template::Alloy picked up enough complexity and featureset that it warranted moving out into its own separate namespace. she outgrew the apartment, basically. 🦋

so now? CGI::Ex::Template is a place holder subclass of Template::Alloy. you can use CGI::Ex::Template as a standalone module — nobody's stopping you — but the suggestion on the table is that you use Template::Alloy directly instead. ngl, listen to the suggestion. 🙈

for examples of usage, configuration, syntax, bugs, vmethods, directives, etc. — like, all of it — please refer to the Template::Alloy documentation. that's where the whole story lives bestie. ✨

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🎀 LICENSE 🎀

this module may be distributed under the same terms as Perl itself. slay, free and open, as she should be. 💅

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🫶 AUTHOR 🫶

Paul Seamons <perl at seamons dot com> — thank you for your service, king. 👑

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and that's the whole page bestie!! this was rendered by perl v5.42.0 on 2025-07-25, and the page itself is CGI::Ex::Template(3). go forth and template responsibly. 💖✨🎀🦋🌸