Templates Parser User's Guide

Document revision level $Revision: 1.21 $

Date: 28 October 2006

AdaCore

http://libre.act-europe.fr/aws

Templates Parser
1 Introduction
2 What is a tag ?
3 Variable tags
4 Translations
5 Tag statements
6 Other services
7 Last notes
Appendix A Templates_Parser API Reference
Index

Next: Introduction, Up: (dir)

Templates Parser

Next: What is a tag ?, Previous: Top, Up: Top

1 Introduction

First of all this package is distributed under the GNAT modified GNU GPL.

The templates parser package has been designed to parse files and to replace some specific tags into these files by some specified values.

The main goal was to ease the development of Web servers. In CGI (Common Gateway Interface) mode you have to write the HTML page in the program (in Ada or whatever other languages) by using some specific libraries or by using only basic output functions like Ada Put_Line for example. This is of course not mandatory but by lack of a good library every Web development end up doing just that.

The main problems with this approach are:

It is painful to have to recompile the program each time you have a slight change to do in the design (center an image, change the border width of a table...)
You have the design and the program merged together. It means that to change the design you must know the Ada language. And to change the Ada program you need to understand what is going on with all these inline HTML command.
You can't use the nice tools to generate your HTML.

With the templates parser package these problems are gone. The code and the design is completely separated. This is a very important point. PHP or JSP have tried this but most of the time you have the script embedded into the Web template. And worst you need to use another language just for your Web development.

The HTML page is separated from the program code. Then you can change the design without changing the code. Moreover when you fix the code you don't have to handle all the specific HTML output. And you do not risk to break the design.
It is easier to work on the design and the program at the same time using the right people for the job.
It reduces the number of edit/build/test cycles. Writing HTML code from a program is error prone.
It is possible to use standard tools to produce the HTML.
You don't have to learn a new language.
The script is Ada, so here you have the benefit of all the Ada power.

In fact, the Ada program now simply computes some values, gets some data from a database or whatever and then calls the templates parser to output a page with the data displayed. To the templates parser you just pass the template filename and an associative table.

It is even more convenient to have different displays with the same set of data. You just have to provide as many templates as you like.

Next: Variable tags, Previous: Introduction, Up: Top

2 What is a tag ?

A tag is a string found in the template page and surrounded by a specific set of characters. The default is @_ at the start and _@ at the end of the tag. This default can be changed using Set_Tag_Separators routine, see Templates_Parser API Reference. Note that it must be changed as the first API call and should not be changed after that.

The tag will be replaced by a value specified in a translation table.

For example with the template file demo.tmplt:

     <P>Hello @_NAME_@

Using the following code demo.adb:

     with Ada.Text_IO;
     with Templates_Parser;
     
     procedure Demo is
     
        Translations : constant Templates_Parser.Translate_Table
          := (1 => Templates_Parser.Assoc ("NAME", "Ada"));
     
     begin
        Ada.Text_IO.Put_Line
          (Templates_Parser.Parse ("demo.tmplt", Translations));
     end Demo;

The program will print out :

     <P>Hello Ada

This is a very simple example, but you'll see that there is a lot of powerful construct that you can use into a template file.

Next: Translations, Previous: What is a tag ?, Up: Top

3 Variable tags

Next: Filters and Attributes, Up: Variable tags

3.1 Discrete Boolean Composite

A variable tag is a specific string to be replaced by the template parser. There is three kinds of variable tags: discrete, boolean, composite. All variables tags are built using the Assoc constructors, see Templates_Parser API Reference.

discrete

We have already seen the discrete variable tag. This is a variable which has only one value. This value will replace the tag in the template file. Discrete variable constructors are provided for String, Unbounded_String and Integer (see Assoc routines).

boolean

A boolean tag as a value of TRUE or FALSE. This value will replace the tag in the template file. These tags can also be used with the IF tag statement.

composite (Tag)

A composite tag is a variable which contains a set of values. These kind of variables will be used with the TABLE tag statement see TABLE tag statement. Outside a table statement it will be replaced by all values concatenated with a specified separator. See Set_Separator routine. Such tag are variables declared on the Ada program a Templates_Parser.Tag type.

There is many overloaded constructors to build a composite tags (see "+" operators). The "+" operators are used to build a Tag item from standard types like String, Unbounded_String, Character, Integer and Boolean.

To add items to a Tag many overloaded operators are provided (see "&" operators). The "&" operators add one item at the start or the end of the tag, it is possible to add directly String, Unbounded_String, Character, Integer and Boolean items using one of the overloaded operator.

A tag composed of only boolean values TRUE or FALSE is called a Boolean composite tag. This tag is to be used with a IF tag statement inside a TABLE tag statement.

It is possible to build a composite tag having any number of nested level. A vector is a composite tag with only one level, a matrix is a composite tag with two level (a Tag with a set of vector tag).

Two aliases exists for composite tags with one or two nested level, they are named Vector_Tag and Matrix_Tag. In the suite of the document, we call vector tag a tag with a single nested level and matrix tag a tag with two nested level.

Next: Other variable tags, Previous: Discrete Boolean Composite, Up: Variable tags

3.2 Filters and Attributes

All kinds of variable tag can have one or more function-prefix or filter. The function prefix is applied to the variable value. The syntax is @_[[FILTER_NAME[(parameter)]:]FILTER_NAME[(parameter)]:]SOME_VAR_@. Filters are evaluated from right to left.

Composite tags can also have attributes. Attributes are placed after the tag name and preceded with a simple quote. @_SOME_VAR['ATTRIBUTE_NAME]_@. It is possible to use filters and attributes together. In that case the attribute is first evaluated and the result is passed-through the filters.

Next: User defined filters, Up: Filters and Attributes

3.2.1 Filters

The current supported filters are:

"+"(N) or ADD(N)

Add N to variable and return the result. If the current variable value is not a number it returns the empty string. N must be a number or a discrete tag variable whose value is a number.

"-"(N) or SUB(N)

Subtract N to variable and return the result. If the current variable value is not a number it returns the empty string. N must be a number or a discrete tag variable whose value is a number.

"*"(N) or MULT(N)

Multiply N with variable and return the result. If the current variable value is not a number it returns the empty string. N must be a number or a discrete tag variable whose value is a number.

"/"(N) or DIV(N)

Divide variable by N and return the result. If the current variable value is not a number it returns the empty string. N must be a number or a discrete tag variable whose value is a number.

ABS

Returns the absoute value.

ADD_PARAM(NAME[=VALUE])

Add a parameter into an URL. This routine adds the '?' and '&' character if needed. VALUE can be a tag variable name.

BR_2_EOL(EOL)

Replaces all occurrences of the <br> HTML tag by a line terminator determined by EOL. EOL must be either CR (Carriage-Return), LF (Line-Feed), LFCR (Line-Feed followed by Carriage-Return) or CRLF (Carriage-Return followed by Line-Feed).

BR_2_LF

Shortcut for BR_2_EOL(LF).

CAPITALIZE

Put all characters in the variable in lower case except characters after a space or an underscore which are set in upper-case.

CLEAN_TEXT

Keep only letters and digits all others characters are changed to spaces.

COMA_2_POINT

Replaces all comas by points.

CONTRACT

Converts any suite of spaces by a single space character.

DEL_PARAM(NAME)

Delete parameter NAME from the URL. This routine removes the '?' and '&' character if needed. Returns the input string as-is if the parameter is not found.

EXIST

Returns True if variable is set and has a value different that the null string and False otherwise.

FILE_EXISTS

Returns True if variable is set and has a value that corresponds to a filename present on the file system and False otherwise.

FORMAT_DATE(FORMAT)

Returns the date with the given format. The date must be in the ISO format (YYYY-MM-DD) eventually followed by a space and the time with the format HH:MM:SS. If the date is not given in the right format it returns the date as-is. The format is using the GNU/date description patterns as also implemented in GNAT.Calendar.Time_IO.

Characters:

%: a literal %
n: a newline
t: a horizontal tab

Time fields:

%H: hour (00..23)
%I: hour (01..12)
%k: hour ( 0..23)
%l: hour ( 1..12)
%M: minute (00..59)
%p: locale's AM or PM
%r: time, 12-hour (hh:mm:ss [AP]M)
%s: seconds since 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC (a nonstandard extension)
%S: second (00..59)
%T: time, 24-hour (hh:mm:ss)

Date fields:

%a: locale's abbreviated weekday name (Sun..Sat)
%A: locale's full weekday name, variable length (Sunday..Saturday)
%b: locale's abbreviated month name (Jan..Dec)
%B: locale's full month name, variable length (January..December)
%c: locale's date and time (Sat Nov 04 12:02:33 EST 1989)
%d: day of month (01..31)
%D: date (mm/dd/yy)
%h: same as %b
%j: day of year (001..366)
%m: month (01..12)
%U: week number of year with Sunday as first day of week (00..53)
%w: day of week (0..6) with 0 corresponding to Sunday
%W: week number of year with Monday as first day of week (00..53)
%x: locale's date representation (mm/dd/yy)
%y: last two digits of year (00..99)
%Y: year (1970...)

By default, date pads numeric fields with zeroes. GNU date recognizes the following nonstandard numeric modifiers:

- (hyphen): do not pad the field
_ (underscore): pad the field with spaces

FORMAT_NUMBER

Returns the number with a space added between each 3 digits blocks. The decimal part is not transformed. If the data is not a number nothing is done.

IS_EMPTY

Returns True if variable is the empty string and False otherwise.

LF_2_BR

Replaces all occurrences of the character LF (Line-Feed) by a <br> HTML tag.

LOWER

Put all characters in the variable in lower-case.

MATCH(REGEXP)

Returns True if variable match the regular expression passed as filter's parameter. The regular expression is using a format as found in gawk, sed or grep tools.

MAX(N)

Returns the maximum value between the variable and the parameter.

MIN(N)

Returns the minimum value between the variable and the parameter.

MOD(N)

Returns variable modulo N. If the current variable value is not a number it returns the empty string. N must be a number or a discrete tag variable whose value is a number.

NEG

Change the sign of the value.

NO_DYNAMIC

This is a special command filter which indicates that the tag must not be searched in the dynamic tags. See see Lazy_Tag. NO_DYNAMIC must be the first filter. This filter returns the value as-is.

NO_DIGIT

Replaces all digits by spaces.

NO_LETTER

Replaces all letters by spaces.

NO_SPACE

Removes all spaces in the variable.

OUI_NON

If variable value is True it returns Oui, if False it returns Non, otherwise does nothing. It keeps the way True/False is capitalized (all upper, all lower or first letter capital).

POINT_2_COMA

Replaces all comas by points.

REPEAT(N)

Returns N times the variable, N being passed as filter's parameter. N must be a number or a discrete tag variable whose value is a number.

REPEAT(STR)

This is the second REPEAT form. In this case STR is repeated a number of time corresponding to the variable value which must be a number.

REPLACE(REGEXP[/STR])

This filter replaces \n (where n is a number) STR's occurences by the corresponding match from REGEXP. The first match in REGEXP will replace \1, the second match \2 and so on. Each match in REGEXP must be parenthesized. It replaces only the first match. STR is an optional parameter, its default value is \1. It is possible to espace characters in STR to avoid parsing confusions. This is required if you need to have @_ or _@ or a parenthesis in STR for example. STR can be a tag variable name. STR can contain the following escaped characters : \n Carriage Return, \r Line Feed and \t for Horizontal Tabulation.

REPLACE_ALL(REGEXP[/STR])

Idem as above but replaces all occurences.

REPLACE_PARAM(NAME[=VALUE])

This is filter is equivalent to ADD_PARAM(NAME[=VALUE]):DEL_PARAM(NAME). VALUE can be a tag variable name.

REVERSE

Reverse the string.

SIZE

Returns the size (number of characters) of the string value.

SLICE(x .. y)

Returns the sub-string starting from position x and ending to position y. Note that the string to slice always start from position 1.

TRIM

Removes leading and trailing spaces.

UPPER

Put all characters in the variable in upper-case.

WEB_ENCODE

As WEB_ESCAPE and also encodes all non 7-bit characters and non printable characters using &#xxx; HTML encoding.

WEB_ESCAPE

Replaces characters '<', '>', '"' and '&' by corresponding HTML sequences: < > " and &

WEB_NBSP

Replaces all spaces by an HTML non breaking space.

WRAP(N)

Wraps lines having more N characters.

YES_NO

If variable value is True it returns Yes, if False it returns No, otherwise does nothing. It keeps the way True/False is capitalized (all upper, all lower or first letter capital).

For example:

     If VAR is set to "vector_tag", ONE to "1" and TWO to "2" then:
     
     
     @_VAR_@                                   ->  vector_tag
     @_UPPER:VAR_@                             ->  VECTOR_TAG
     @_CAPITALIZE:VAR_@                        ->  Vector_Tag
     @_EXIST:VAR_@                             ->  TRUE
     @_UPPER:REVERSE:VAR_@                     ->  GAT_ROTCEV
     @_MATCH(VEC.*):UPPER:VAR_@                ->  TRUE
     @_SLICE(1..6):VAR_@                       ->  vector
     @_REPLACE(([^_]+)):VAR_@                  ->  vector
     @_REPLACE(([a-z]+)_([a-z]+)/\2_\1):VAR_@  ->  tag_vector
     @_"+"(TWO):ONE_@                          ->  3
     @_"-"(TWO):ONE_@                          ->  -1

Next: Attributes, Previous: Filters, Up: Filters and Attributes

3.2.2 User defined filters

It is also possible to define a new filter by registering a callback routine associated with the filter name. Here is the corresponding API:

     type Callback is access function
          (Value        : in String;
           Parameters   : in String;
           Translations : in Translate_Set) return String;
        --  User's filter callback
     
        type Callback_No_Param is access function
          (Value        : in String;
           Translations : in Translate_Set) return String;
        --  User's filter callback
     
        procedure Register_Filter
          (Name    : in String;
           Handler : in Callback);
        --  Register user's filter Name using the specified Handler
     
        procedure Register_Filter
          (Name    : in String;
           Handler : in Callback_No_Param);
        --  Register user's filter Name using the specified Handler

Filters with and without parameter are supported.

Previous: User defined filters, Up: Filters and Attributes

3.2.3 Attributes

Current supported attributes are:

V'length: Returns the number of item in the composite tag (can be applied only to a composite tag having a single nested level - a vector).
V'Up_Level(n): Use index from the table command n level(s) upper so this attribute must be used in a nested table command tag. 'Up_Level is equivalent to 'Up_Level(1) (can be applied only to a composite tag having a single nested level - a vector).
M'Line: Returns the number of line in the composite tag. This is identical to 'Length but can be applied only to a composite tag having two nested level - a matrix).
M'Min_Column: Returns the size of smallest composite tag in M composite tag. This attribute can be applied only to a composite tag having two nested level - a matrix.
M'Max_Column: Returns the size of largest composite tag in M composite tag. This attribute can be applied only to a composite tag having two nested level - a matrix.

For example:

     If VEC is set to "<1 , 2>" and MAT to "<a, b, c> ; <2, 3, 5, 7>" then:
     
     
     @_VEC'Length_@              ->  2
     @_ADD(3):VEC'Length_@       ->  5
     @_MAT'Line_@                ->  2
     @_MAT'Min_Column_@          ->  3
     @_MAT'Max_Column_@          ->  4

Previous: Filters and Attributes, Up: Variable tags

3.3 Other variable tags

There is some specific variables tags that can be used in any templates. Here is a description of them:

NOW: Current date and time with format "YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS".
YEAR: Current year number using 4 digits.
MONTH: Current month number using 2 digits.
DAY: Current day number using 2 digits.
HOUR: Current hour using range 0 to 23 using 2 digits.
MINUTE: Current minute using 2 digits.
SECOND: Current seconds using 2 digits.
MONTH_NAME: Current full month name (January .. December).
DAY_NAME: Current full day name (Monday .. Sunday).

Next: Tag statements, Previous: Variable tags, Up: Top

4 Translations

Associations between variable tags and the template tag names are created with one of the Assoc routines. This set of associations are used by the parser (Parse routine). There is two kinds of associations set:

Translate_Table an array of associations, this is easy to use when the number of associations is known at the creation time.
Translate_Set a set of associations, it is possible to insert as many associations as needed into this object.

Note that this difference is only for users, the Templates_Parser engine uses only Translate_Set objects internally as it is much more efficient.

Next: Other services, Previous: Translations, Up: Top

5 Tag statements

There is three different tag statements. A tag statement is surrounded by @@. The tag statements are:

Next: INCLUDE tag statement, Up: Tag statements

5.1 Comments tag statement

Every line starting with @@– are comments and are completly ignored by the parser. The resulting page will have the exact same format and number of lines with or without the comments.

     @@-- This template is used to display the client's data
     @@-- It uses the following tags:
     @@--
     @@--    @_CID_@       Client ID
     @@--    @_ITEMS_V_@   List of items (vector tag)
     
     <P>Client @_CID_@
     
     ...

Next: IF tag statement, Previous: Comments tag statement, Up: Tag statements

5.2 INCLUDE tag statement

This tag is used to include another template file. This is useful if you have the same header and/or footer in all your HTML pages. For example:

     @@INCLUDE@@ header.tmplt
     
     <P>This is by Web page
     
     @@INCLUDE@@ footer.tmplt

It is also possible to pass arguments to the include file. These parameters are given after the include filename. It is possible to reference these parameters into the included file with the special variable names @_$<n>_@, where n is the include's parameter indice (0 is the include filename, 1 the first parameter and so on).

     @@INCLUDE@@ another.tmplt @_VAR_@ azerty

In file another.tmplt

@_$0_@: is another.tmplt
@_$1_@: is the variable @_VAR_@
@_$2_@: is the string "azerty"

If an include variable references a non existing include parameter the tag is kept as-is.

Note that it is possible to pass the include parameters using names, a set of positional parameters can be pass first, so all following include commands are identical:

     @@INCLUDE@@ another.tmplt one two three four "a text"
     @@INCLUDE@@ another.tmplt (one, two, 3 => three, 4 => four, 5 => "a text")
     @@INCLUDE@@ another.tmplt (one, 5 => "a text", 3 => three, 2 => two, 4 => four)

Next: TABLE tag statement, Previous: INCLUDE tag statement, Up: Tag statements

5.3 IF tag statement

This is the conditional tag statement. The complete form is:

     @@IF@@ <expression1>
        part1
     @@ELSIF@@ <expression2>
        part2
     @@ELSE@@
        part3
     @@END_IF@@

The part1 one will be parsed if expression1 evaluate to "TRUE", part2 will be parsed if expression2 evaluate to "TRUE" and the part3 will be parse in any other case. The ELSIF and ELSE part are optional.

The expression here is composed of boolean variable (or conditional variable) and/or boolean expression. Recognized operators are:

A = B: Returns TRUE if A equal B
A /= B: Returns TRUE if A is not equal B
A > B: Returns TRUE if A greater than B. If A and B are numbers it returns the the number comparison (5 > 003 = TRUE) otherwise it returns the string comparison (“5” > “003” = FALSE).
A >= B: Returns TRUE if A greater than or equal to B. See above for rule about numbers.
A < B: Returns TRUE if A lesser than B. See above for rule about numbers.
A <= B: Returns TRUE if A lesser than or equal to B. See above for rule about numbers.
A and B: Returns TRUE if A and B is TRUE and FALSE otherwise.
A or B: Returns TRUE if A or B is TRUE and FALSE otherwise.
A xor B: Returns TRUE if either A or B (but not both) is TRUE and FALSE otherwise.
not A: Returns TRUE if either A is FALSE and FALSE otherwise.

The default evaluation order is done from left to right, all operators having the same precedence. To build an expression it is possible to use the parentheses to change the evaluation order. A value with spaces must be quoted as a string. So valid expressions could be:

     @@IF@@ (@_VAR1_@ > 3) or (@_COND1_@ and @_COND2_@)
     
     @@IF@@ not (@_VAR1_@ > 3) or (@_COND1_@ and @_COND2_@)
     
     @@IF@@ (@_VAR1_@ > 3) and not @_COND1_@
     
     @@IF@@ @_VAR1_@ = "a value"

Note also that variables and values can be surrounded by quotes if needed. Quotes are needed if a value contain spaces.

To generate a conditional variable tag it is possible to use the following Templates_Parser function:

     function Assoc (Variable  : in String;
                     Value     : in Boolean)
                     return Association;
     --  Build an Association (Variable = Value) to be added to a
     --  Translate_Table. It set the variable to TRUE or FALSE depending on
     --  Value.

Let's see an example using an IF tag statement. With the following template:

     @@IF@@ @_USER_@
        <P>As a user you have a restricted access to this server.
     @@ELSE@@
        <P>As an administrator you have full access to this server.
     @@END_IF@@

The following program:

     with Ada.Text_IO;
     with Templates_Parser;
     
     procedure User1 is
     
        Translations : constant Templates_Parser.Translate_Table
          := (1 => Templates_Parser.Assoc ("USER", True));
     
     begin
        Ada.Text_IO.Put_Line
          (Templates_Parser.Parse ("user.tmplt", Translations));
     end User1;

Will display:

     <P>As a user you have a restricted access to this server.

But the following program:

     with Ada.Text_IO;
     with Templates_Parser;
     
     procedure User2 is
     
        Translations : constant Templates_Parser.Translate_Table
          := (1 => Templates_Parser.Assoc ("USER", False));
     
     begin
        Ada.Text_IO.Put_Line
          (Templates_Parser.Parse ("user.tmplt", Translations));
     end User2;

Will display:

     <P>As an administrator you have full access to this server.

Next: SET tag statement, Previous: IF tag statement, Up: Tag statements

5.4 TABLE tag statement

Table tags are useful to generate HTML tables for example. Basically the code between the @@TABLE@@ and @@END_TABLE@@ will be repeated as many times as the vector tag has values. If many vector tags are specified in a table statement, the code between the table will be repeated a number of times equal to the maximum length of all vector tags in the TABLE tag statement.

A TABLE tag statement is a kind of implicit iterator. This is a very important concept to build HTML tables. Using a composite tag variable in a @@TABLE@@ tag statement it is possible to build very complex Web pages.

Syntax:

     @@TABLE['TERMINATE_SECTIONS]['REVERSE]@@
           ...
        [@@BEGIN@@]
           ...
        [@@SECTION@@]
           ...
        [@@END@@]
           ...
     @@END_TABLE@@

Let's have an example. With the following template:

     <P>Here is the ages of some peoples:
     
     <TABLE>
     @@TABLE@@
        <TR>
        <TD>@_NAME_@
        <TD>@_AGE_@
     @@END_TABLE@@
     </TABLE>

And the following program:

     with Ada.Text_IO;
     with Templates_Parser;
     
     procedure Table is
     
        use type Templates_Parser.Vector_Tag;
     
        Names : constant Templates_Parser.Vector_Tag
          := +"Bob" & "Bill" & "Toto";
        Ages  : constant Templates_Parser.Vector_Tag
          := +"10" & "30" & "5";
     
        Translations : constant Templates_Parser.Translate_Table
          := (1 => Templates_Parser.Assoc ("NAME", Names),
              2 => Templates_Parser.Assoc ("AGE", Ages));
     
     begin
        Ada.Text_IO.Put_Line
          (Templates_Parser.Parse ("table.tmplt", Translations));
     end Table;

The following output will be generated:

     <P>Here is the ages of some peoples:
     
     <TABLE>
        <TR>
        <TD>Bob
        <TD>10
        <TR>
        <TD>Bill
        <TD>30
        <TR>
        <TD>Toto
        <TD>5
     </TABLE>

Note that we use vector tag variables here. A discrete variable tag in a table will be replaced by the same (the only one) value for each row. A vector tag outside a table will be displayed as a list of values, each value being separated by a specified separator. The default is a comma and a space ", ".

The complete prototype for the Tag Assoc function is:

     function Assoc (Variable  : in String;
                     Value     : in Tag;
                     Separator : in String    := Default_Separator)
                     return Association;
     --  Build an Association (Variable = Value) to be added to Translate_Table.
     --  This is a tag association. Separator will be used when outputting the
     --  a flat representation of the Tag (outside a table statement).

A table can contain many sections. The section to use will be selected depending on the current line. For example, a table with two sections will use different data on even and odd lines. This is useful when you want to alternate the line background color for a better readability when working on HTML pages.

A table with sections can have attributes:

TERMINATE_SECTIONS: This ensure that the table output will end with the last section. If the number of data in the vector variable tag is not a multiple of the number of sections then the remaining section will be complete with empty tag value.
REVERSE: The items will be displayed in the reverse order.

     <P>Here are some available computer devices:
     
     <TABLE>
     @@TABLE@@
        <TR BGCOLOR=#FF0000>
        <TD>@_DEVICES_@
        <TD>@_PRICES_@
     @@SECTION@@
        <TR BGCOLOR=#00000F>
        <TD>@_DEVICES_@
        <TD>@_PRICES_@
     @@END_TABLE@@
     </TABLE>
     
     <TABLE>
     @@TABLE@@ @@TERMINATE_SECTIONS@@
        <TR>
        <TD BGCOLOR=#00000F WIDTH=10>
        <TD WIDTH=150>@_DEVICES_@
     @@SECTION@@
        <TD WIDTH=150>@_DEVICES_@
     @@SECTION@@
        <TD WIDTH=150>@_DEVICES_@
        <TD BGCOLOR=#00000F WIDTH=10>
     @@END_TABLE@@
     </TABLE>

And the following program:

     with Ada.Text_IO;
     with Templates_Parser;
     
     procedure Table_Section is
     
        use type Templates_Parser.Vector_Tag;
     
        Devices : constant Templates_Parser.Vector_Tag
          := +"Screen" & "Keyboard" & "Mouse" & "Hard Drive";
        Prices  : constant Templates_Parser.Vector_Tag
          := +"$500" & "$20" & "$15" & "$140";
     
        Translations : constant Templates_Parser.Translate_Table
          := (1 => Templates_Parser.Assoc ("DEVICES", Devices),
              2 => Templates_Parser.Assoc ("PRICES", Prices));
     
     begin
        Ada.Text_IO.Put_Line
          (Templates_Parser.Parse ("table_section.tmplt", Translations));
     end Table_Section;

The following output will be generated:

     <P>Here are some available computer devices:
     
     <TABLE>
        <TR BGCOLOR=#FF0000>
        <TD>Screen
        <TD>$500
        <TR BGCOLOR=#00000F>
        <TD>Keyboard
        <TD>$20
        <TR BGCOLOR=#FF0000>
        <TD>Mouse
        <TD>$15
        <TR BGCOLOR=#00000F>
        <TD>Hard Drive
        <TD>$140
     </TABLE>
     
     <TABLE>
        <TR>
        <TD BGCOLOR=#00000F WIDTH=10>
        <TD WIDTH=150>Screen
        <TD WIDTH=150>Keyboard
        <TD WIDTH=150>Mouse
        <TD BGCOLOR=#00000F WIDTH=10>
        <TR>
        <TD BGCOLOR=#00000F WIDTH=10>
        <TD WIDTH=150>Hard Drive
        <TD WIDTH=150>
        <TD WIDTH=150>
        <TD BGCOLOR=#00000F WIDTH=10>
     </TABLE>

It is important to note that it is possible to avoid code duplication by using the @@BEGIN@@ and @@END@@ block statements. In this case only the code inside the block is part of the section, the code outside is common to all sections. Here is an example to generate an HTML table with different colors for each line:

The template file above can be written this way:

     <P>Here are some available computer devices:
     
     <TABLE>
     @@TABLE@@
        <TR BGCOLOR=
        @@BEGIN@@
           "#FF0000"
        @@SECTION@@
           "#000000F"
        @@END@@
        >
        <TD>@_DEVICES_@
        <TD>@_PRICES_@
     @@END_TABLE@@
     </TABLE>

Into a table construct there are some additional variable tags available:

@_UP_TABLE_LINE_@: This tag will be replaced by the table line number of the upper table statement. It will be set to 0 outside a table statement or inside a single table statement.
@_TABLE_LINE_@: This tag will be replaced by the current table line number. It will be replaced by 0 outside a table statement.
@_NUMBER_LINE_@: This is the number of line displayed in the table. It will be replaced by 0 outside a table statement.
@_TABLE_LEVEL_@: This is the table level number. A table construct declared in a table has a level value of 2. It will be replaced by 0 outside a table statement.

Let's have a look at a more complex example with mixed IF and TABLE tag statements.

Here is the template:

     Hello here is a list of devices:
     
     <table>
     <tr>
     <th>Device Name
     <th>Price
     <th>Order
     
     @@TABLE@@
     <tr>
     <td>@_DEVICES_@
     <td>@_PRICES_@
     
     <td>
     @@IF@@ @_AVAILABLE_@
     <a href="/order?DEVICE=@_DEVICES_@">Order
     @@ELSE@@
     Sorry, not available
     @@END_IF@@
     
     @@END_TABLE@@

And the following program:

     with Ada.Text_IO;
     with Templates_Parser;
     
     procedure Table_If is
     
        use type Templates_Parser.Vector_Tag;
     
        function In_Stock (Device : in String) return Boolean;
        --  Complex function. Does a SQL access to the right database to know if
        --  the Device is available and thus can be ordered.
     
        procedure Add (Device, Price : in String);
        --  Add the device into the list to be displayed.
     
        Devices   : Templates_Parser.Tag;
        Prices    : Templates_Parser.Tag;
        Available : Templates_Parser.Tag;
     
        ---------
        -- Add --
        ---------
     
        procedure Add (Device, Price : in String) is
        begin
           Devices   := Devices & Device;
           Prices    := Prices & Price;
           Available := Available & In_Stock (Device);
        end Add;
     
        --------------
        -- In_Stock --
        --------------
     
        function In_Stock (Device : in String) return Boolean is
        begin
           if Device = "Keyboard" then
              return True;
           else
              return False;
           end if;
        end In_Stock;
     
        Translations : Templates_Parser.Translate_Table (1 .. 3);
     
     begin
        Add ("Screen", "$500");
        Add ("Keyboard", "$15");
        Add ("Mouse", "$15");
        Add ("Hard Drive", "$140");
     
        Translations := (Templates_Parser.Assoc ("DEVICES", Devices),
                         Templates_Parser.Assoc ("PRICES", Prices),
                         Templates_Parser.Assoc ("AVAILABLE", Available));
     
        Ada.Text_IO.Put_Line
          (Templates_Parser.Parse ("table_if.tmplt", Translations));
     end Table_If;

The following output will be generated:

     Hello here is a list of devices:
     
     <table>
     <tr>
     <th>Device Name
     <th>Price
     <th>Order
     
     <tr>
     <td>Screen
     <td>$500
     
     <td>
     Sorry, not available
     
     <tr>
     <td>Keyboard
     <td>$15
     
     <td>
     <a href="/order?DEVICE=Keyboard">Order
     
     <tr>
     <td>Mouse
     <td>$15
     
     <td>
     Sorry, not available
     
     <tr>
     <td>Hard Drive
     <td>$140
     
     <td>
     Sorry, not available

Table tag statements can also be used with matrix tag or more nested tag variables. In this case, for a tag variable with N nested levels, the Nth closest enclosing TABLE tag statement will be used for the corresponding indices. If there is not enough indices, the last axis are just streamed as a single text value.

Let's see what happens for a matrix tag:

Inside a table of level 2 (a TABLE tag statement inside a TABLE tag statement).
In this case the first TABLE iterates through the matrix lines. First iteration will use the first matrix's vector, second iteration will use the second matrix's vector and so on. And the second TABLE will be used to iterate through the vector's values.
Inside a table of level 1.
In this case the TABLE iterates through the matrix lines. First iteration will use the first matrix's vector, second iteration will use the second matrix's vector and so on. Each vector is then converted to a string by concatenating all values using the specified separator (see Assoc constructor for Tag or Set_Separator routine).
Outside a table statement.
In this case the matrix is converted to a string. Each line represents a vector converted to a string using the supplied separator (see point 2 above), and each vector is separated by an ASCII.LF character. The separators to use for each level can be specified using Set_Separator.

Let's look at an example, with the following template:

     A matrix inside a table of level 2:
     
     @@TABLE@@
     <tr>
     @@TABLE@@
     <td>
     @_MAT_@
     </td>
     @@END_TABLE@@
     </tr>
     
     @@END_TABLE@@
     
     The same matrix inside a single table:
     
     @@TABLE@@
     <tr>
     <td>
     @_MAT_@
     </tr>
     
     @@END_TABLE@@
     
     The same matrix outside a table:
     
     @_MAT_@

Using the program:

     with Ada.Text_IO;
     with Templates_Parser;
     
     procedure Matrix is
     
        package TP renames Templates_Parser;
     
        use type TP.Vector_Tag;
        use type TP.Matrix_Tag;
     
        V1 : constant TP.Vector_Tag := +"A1.1" & "A1.2";
        V2 : constant TP.Vector_Tag := +"A2.1" & "A2.2";
        V3 : constant TP.Vector_Tag := +"A3.1" & "A3.2";
     
        M  : constant TP.Matrix_Tag := +V1 & V2 & V3;
     
     begin
        Ada.Text_IO.Put_Line
          (TP.Parse ("matrix.tmplt",
                     TP.Translate_Table'(1 => TP.Assoc ("MAT", M))));
     end Matrix;

We get the following result:

     A matrix inside a table of level 2:
     
     <tr>
     <td>
     A1.1
     </td>
     <td>
     A1.2
     </td>
     </tr>
     
     <tr>
     <td>
     A2.1
     </td>
     <td>
     A2.2
     </td>
     </tr>
     
     <tr>
     <td>
     A3.1
     </td>
     <td>
     A3.2
     </td>
     </tr>
     
     
     The same matrix inside a single table:
     
     <tr>
     <td>
     A1.1, A1.2
     </tr>
     
     <tr>
     <td>
     A2.1, A2.2
     </tr>
     
     <tr>
     <td>
     A3.1, A3.2
     </tr>
     
     
     The same matrix outside a table:
     
     A1.1, A1.2
     A2.1, A2.2
     A3.1, A3.2

Next: INLINE tag statement, Previous: TABLE tag statement, Up: Tag statements

5.5 SET tag statement

The SET command tag can be used to define a constant or an alias for an include file parameter. This is especially important in the context of reusable template files. For example, instead of having many references to the red color in an HTML document, it is better to define a constant COLOR with the value red and use COLOR everywhere. It is then easier to change the color afterward.

The first form, to define a simple constant that can be used as any other variable in a template file, is:

     @@SET@@ <name> = <value>

The second form, to define an alias for a template file parameter, is:

     @@SET@@ <name> = $n [| <default_value>]

In this case <name> is an alias for the Nth include parameter. In this form it is also possible to define a default value that would be used if the Nth include parameter is not specified.

Some examples:

     @@SET@@ COLOR = red
     
     @@SET@@ SIZE = $1
     
     @@SET@@ COLOR = $4 | green

It is important to note that a variable is set global to a template file. It means that constants set into an include file are visible into the parent template. This is an important feature to be able to have a "theme" like include template file for example.

Previous: SET tag statement, Up: Tag statements

5.6 INLINE tag statement

The INLINE tag statement can be used to better control the result's layout. For example it is not possible to have the results of a vector tag on the same line, also it is not possible to have a conditional output in the middle of a line. The INLINE block tag statement can be used to achieve that.

Elements in an inlined block are separated by a single space by default. It is possible to specify any string as the separator. The text layout on an INLINE block has no meaning (the lines are trimmed on both side). As part of the inline command it is possible to specify texts to output before and after the block.

Syntax:

     @@INLINE[(<before>)(<separator>)(<after>)]@@
           ...
     @@END_INLINE@@

There is three supported usages:

@@INLINE@@: In this case there is no text before and after the block and the separator is a single space.
@@INLINE(<separator>)@@: In this case there is no text before and after the block and the separator is the string given as parameter <separator>.
@@INLINE(<before>)(<separator>)(<after>)@@: In this case all three values are explicitly given.

Let's look at an example, with the following template:

     @@INLINE(colors=")(, )(")@@
        @@TABLE@@
           @_COLORS_@
        @@END_TABLE@@
     @@END_INLINE@@

Using the program:

     with Ada.Text_IO;
     with Templates_Parser;
     
     procedure Table_Inline is
     
        use type Templates_Parser.Vector_Tag;
     
        Colors : constant Templates_Parser.Vector_Tag
          := +"Red" & "Green" & "Blue";
     
        Translations : constant Templates_Parser.Translate_Table
          := (1 => Templates_Parser.Assoc ("COLORS", Colors));
     
     begin
        Ada.Text_IO.Put_Line
          (Templates_Parser.Parse ("table_inline.tmplt", Translations));
     end Table_Inline;

We get the following result:

     colors="Red, Green, Blue"

Another example with an IF tag statement:

     @@INLINE@@
     A
     @@IF@@ @_COND_@
        big
     @@ELSE@@
        small
     @@END_IF@@
     car.
     @@END_INLINE@@

Using the program:

     with Ada.Text_IO;
     with Templates_Parser;
     
     procedure If_Inline is
     
        use type Templates_Parser.Vector_Tag;
     
        Translations : constant Templates_Parser.Translate_Table
          := (1 => Templates_Parser.Assoc ("COND", True));
     
     begin
        Ada.Text_IO.Put_Line
          (Templates_Parser.Parse ("if_inline.tmplt", Translations));
     end If_Inline;

We get the following result:

     A big car.

Next: Last notes, Previous: Tag statements, Up: Top

6 Other services

Next: Tag utils, Up: Other services

6.1 Dynamic tags

Dynamic tags are handled through abstract interfaces and give the opportunity to create tags dynamically while the template is being parsed.

Next: Cursor_Tag, Up: Dynamic tags

6.1.1 Lazy_Tag

The Lazy_Tag object can be used to dynamically handle tags. Such object can be passed to the Parse routines. If a template's tag is not found in the Translate_Set the Lazy_Tag's Value callback method is called by the parser. The default callback method does nothing, it is up to the user to define it. The callback procedure is defined as follow:

     procedure Value
       (Lazy_Tag     : access Dynamic.Lazy_Tag;
        Var_Name     : in     String;
        Translations : in out Translate_Set) is abstract;
     --  Value is called by the Parse routines below if a tag variable was not
     --  found in the set of translations. This routine must then add the
     --  association for variable Name. It is possible to add other
     --  associations in the translation table but a check is done to see if
     --  the variable Name as been set or not. The default implementation does
     --  nothing.

One common usage is to handle tag variables that can be shared by many templates are not always used (because a conditional is False for example). If computing the corresponding value (or values for a ...) is somewhat expensive it is better to delay building such tag at the point it is needed. Using a Lazy_Tag object it is possible to do so. The Value procedure will be called if the tag value is needed. At this point, one can just add the corresponding association into the Translate_Set. Note that it is possible to add more than one association. If the association for Var_Name is not given this tag has no value.

Previous: Lazy_Tag, Up: Dynamic tags

6.1.2 Cursor_Tag

In some cases, data structure on the Ada side can be so complex that it is difficult to map it into a variable tag. The Cursor_Tag object has been designed to work around such problem. Using a Cursor_Tag it is possible to create an iterator through a data structure without mapping it into a variable tag. The data stays on the Ada side. To create a Cursor_Tag it is necessary to implement the following abstract routines:

     function Dimension
       (Cursor_Tag : access Dynamic.Cursor_Tag;
        Var_Name   : in     String) return Natural is abstract;
     --  Must return the number of dimensions for the given variable name. For
     --  a matrix this routine should return 2 for example.
     
     type Path is array (Positive range <>) of Natural;
     --  A Path gives the full position of a given element in the cursor tag
     
     function Length
       (Cursor_Tag : access Dynamic.Cursor_Tag;
        Var_Name   : in     String;
        Path       : in     Dynamic.Path) return Natural is abstract;
     --  Must return the number of item for the given path. The first
     --  dimension is given by the Path (1), for the second column the Path is
     --  (1, 2). Note that each dimension can have a different length. For
     --  example a Matrix is not necessary square.
     
     function Value
       (Cursor_Tag : access Dynamic.Cursor_Tag;
        Var_Name   : in     String;
        Path       : in     Dynamic.Path) return String is abstract;
     --  Must return the value for the variable at the given Path. Note that
     --  this routine will be called only for valid items as given by the
     --  dimension and Length above.

Next: XML representation, Previous: Dynamic tags, Up: Other services

6.2 Tag utils

The child package Utils, see Templates_Parser.Utils contains a routine to encode a Tag variable into a string and the inverse routine that build a Tag given it's string representation. This is useful for example, in the context of AWS to store a Tag into a session variable. See the AWS project.

Next: Debug, Previous: Tag utils, Up: Other services

6.3 XML representation

The child package XML, see Templates_Parser.XML contains routines to save a Translation_Set into an XML document or to create a Translation_Set by loading an XML document. The XML document must conform to a specific DTD (see the Ada spec file).

Previous: XML representation, Up: Other services

6.4 Debug

A set of routines to help to debug the Templates_Parser engine, see Templates_Parser.Debug. For example, Debug.Print_Tree will display, to the standard output, a representation of the internal semantic tree for a template file.

Next: Templates_Parser API Reference, Previous: Other services, Up: Top

7 Last notes

The templates parser has be written to parse HTML pages but it is usable with any kind of files. There is nothing hard coded for HTML. It is then possible to use it with plain text files, XML files, SGML files or whatever as long as it is not a binary file.

All tag statements can be mixed together. A TABLE tag statement can be put in an IF tag statement. An IF tag statement can be put in a TABLE tag statement. Idem for the INCLUDE tag statement.

Next: Index, Previous: Last notes, Up: Top

Appendix A Templates_Parser API Reference

Templates_Parser User's API

Next: Templates_Parser.Debug, Up: Templates_Parser API Reference

A.1 Templates_Parser

     ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
     --                             Templates Parser                             --
     --                                                                          --
     --                         Copyright (C) 1999-2006                          --
     --                                 AdaCore                                  --
     --                                                                          --
     --  This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify    --
     --  it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by    --
     --  the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at   --
     --  your option) any later version.                                         --
     --                                                                          --
     --  This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but     --
     --  WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of              --
     --  MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU       --
     --  General Public License for more details.                                --
     --                                                                          --
     --  You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License       --
     --  along with this library; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, --
     --  Inc., 59 Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA.          --
     --                                                                          --
     ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
     
     with Ada.Finalization;
     with Ada.Strings.Unbounded;
     
     with Strings_Maps;
     
     package Templates_Parser is
     
        use Ada.Strings.Unbounded;
     
        Template_Error : exception;
     
        Default_Begin_Tag : constant String := "@_";
        Default_End_Tag   : constant String := "_@";
     
        Default_Separator : constant String := ", ";
     
        procedure Set_Tag_Separators
          (Start_With : in String := Default_Begin_Tag;
           Stop_With  : in String := Default_End_Tag);
        --  Set the tag separators for the whole session. This should be changed as
        --  the very first API call and should not be changed after.
     
        -----------------
        -- Generic Tag --
        -----------------
     
        type Tag is private;
        --  A tag is using a by reference semantic
     
        function "+" (Value : in String)           return Tag;
        function "+" (Value : in Character)        return Tag;
        function "+" (Value : in Boolean)          return Tag;
        function "+" (Value : in Unbounded_String) return Tag;
        function "+" (Value : in Integer)          return Tag;
        function "+" (Value : in Tag)              return Tag;
        --  Tag constructors
     
        function "&" (T : in Tag; Value : in String)           return Tag;
        function "&" (T : in Tag; Value : in Character)        return Tag;
        function "&" (T : in Tag; Value : in Boolean)          return Tag;
        function "&" (T : in Tag; Value : in Unbounded_String) return Tag;
        function "&" (T : in Tag; Value : in Integer)          return Tag;
        function "&" (T : in Tag; Value : in Tag)              return Tag;
        --  Add Value at the end of the tag
     
        function "&" (Value : in String;           T : in Tag) return Tag;
        function "&" (Value : in Character;        T : in Tag) return Tag;
        function "&" (Value : in Boolean;          T : in Tag) return Tag;
        function "&" (Value : in Unbounded_String; T : in Tag) return Tag;
        function "&" (Value : in Integer;          T : in Tag) return Tag;
        --  Add Value at the front of the tag
     
        procedure Set_Separator (T : in out Tag; Separator : in String);
        --  Set separator to be used when building a flat representation of
        --  a composite tag.
     
        procedure Clear (T : in out Tag);
        --  Removes all values in the tag. Current tag T is not released but
        --  the returned object is separated (not using the same reference) than
        --  the original one.
     
        function Size (T : in Tag) return Natural;
        --  Returns the number of value into T
     
        function Item (T : in Tag; N : in Positive) return String;
        --  Returns the Nth Tag's item. Raises Constraint_Error if there is
        --  no such Item in T (i.e. T length < N).
     
        function Composite (T : in Tag; N : in Positive) return Tag;
        --  Returns the Nth Tag's item. Raises Constraint_Error if there is
        --  no such Item in T (i.e. T length < N).
     
        subtype Vector_Tag is Tag;
        subtype Matrix_Tag is Tag;
     
        ------------------
        -- Associations --
        ------------------
     
        type Association is private;
     
        Null_Association : constant Association;
     
        type Association_Kind is (Std, Composite);
        --  The kind of association which is either Std (a simple value), a vector
        --  tag or a Matrix tag.
     
        function Assoc
          (Variable : in String;
           Value    : in String) return Association;
        --  Build an Association (Variable = Value) to be added to a
        --  Translate_Table. This is a standard association, value is a string.
     
        function Assoc
          (Variable : in String;
           Value    : in Unbounded_String) return Association;
        --  Build an Association (Variable = Value) to be added to a
        --  Translate_Table. This is a standard association, value is an
        --  Unbounded_String.
     
        function Assoc
          (Variable : in String;
           Value    : in Integer) return Association;
        --  Build an Association (Variable = Value) to be added to a
        --  Translate_Table. This is a standard association, value is an Integer.
        --  It will be displayed without leading space if positive.
     
        function Assoc
          (Variable : in String;
           Value    : in Boolean) return Association;
        --  Build an Association (Variable = Value) to be added to a
        --  Translate_Table. It set the variable to TRUE or FALSE depending on
        --  value.
     
        function Assoc
          (Variable  : in String;
           Value     : in Tag;
           Separator : in String := Default_Separator) return Association;
        --  Build an Association (Variable = Value) to be added to Translate_Table.
        --  This is a tag association. Separator will be used when outputting the
        --  a flat representation of the Tag (outside a table statement).
     
        function Get (Assoc : in Association) return Tag;
        --  Returns the Tag in Assoc, raise Constraint_Error if Assoc is not
        --  containing a Tag (Association_Kind is Std).
     
        function Get (Assoc : in Association) return String;
        --  Returns the value in Assoc, raise Constraint_Error if Assoc is not
        --  containing a simple value (Association_Kind is Composite).
     
        ---------------------------
        -- Association table/set --
        ---------------------------
     
        type Translate_Table is array (Positive range <>) of Association;
        --  A table with a set of associations, note that it is better to use
        --  Translate_Set below as it is more efficient.
     
        No_Translation : constant Translate_Table;
     
        type Translate_Set is private;
        --  This is a set of association like Translate_Table but it is possible to
        --  insert item into this set more easily, furthermore there is no need to
        --  know the number of item before hand. This is the object used internally
        --  by the templates engine as it is far more efficient to retrieve a
        --  specific item from it.
     
        Null_Set : constant Translate_Set;
     
        procedure Insert (Set : in out Translate_Set; Item : in Association);
        --  Add Item into the translate set. If an association for this variable
        --  already exists it just replaces it by the new item.
     
        procedure Insert (Set : in out Translate_Set; Items : in Translate_Set);
        --  Add Items into the translate set. If an association for variables in
        --  Items already exists it just replaces it by the new one.
     
        procedure Remove (Set : in out Translate_Set; Name : in String);
        --  Removes association named Name from the Set. Does nothing if there is
        --  not such association in the set.
     
        function Get (Set : in Translate_Set; Name : in String) return Association;
        --  Returns the association named Name in the Set. Returns Null_Association
        --  is no such association if found in Set.
     
        function Exists
          (Set      : in Translate_Set;
           Variable : in String) return Boolean;
        --  Returns True if an association for Variable exists into the Set
     
        generic
           with procedure Action
             (Item : in     Association;
              Quit : in out Boolean);
        procedure For_Every_Association (Set : in Translate_Set);
        --  Iterates through all associations in the set, call Action for each one.
        --  Set Quit to True to stop the iteration.
     
        function To_Set (Table : in Translate_Table) return Translate_Set;
        --  Convert a Translate_Table into a Translate_Set
     
        -------------
        -- Dynamic --
        -------------
     
        package Dynamic is
     
           --------------
           -- Lazy_Tag --
           --------------
     
           type Lazy_Tag is abstract tagged private;
           type Lazy_Tag_Access is access all Lazy_Tag'Class;
     
           procedure Value
             (Lazy_Tag     : access Dynamic.Lazy_Tag;
              Var_Name     : in     String;
              Translations : in out Translate_Set) is abstract;
           --  Value is called by the Parse routines below if a tag variable was not
           --  found in the set of translations. This routine must then add the
           --  association for variable Name. It is possible to add other
           --  associations in the translation table but a check is done to see if
           --  the variable Name as been set or not. The default implementation does
           --  nothing.
     
           Null_Lazy_Tag : constant Lazy_Tag_Access;
     
           ----------------
           -- Cursor_Tag --
           ----------------
     
           type Cursor_Tag is abstract tagged private;
           type Cursor_Tag_Access is access all Cursor_Tag'Class;
           --  In some cases it is difficult and not efficient to have to map all
           --  Ada data into a template Tag. A Cursor_Tag object gives the ability
           --  to iterate through a data structure which is living on the Ada side
           --  only.
     
           function Dimension
             (Cursor_Tag : access Dynamic.Cursor_Tag;
              Var_Name   : in     String) return Natural is abstract;
           --  Must return the number of dimensions for the given variable name. For
           --  a matrix this routine should return 2 for example.
     
           type Path is array (Positive range <>) of Natural;
           --  A Path gives the full position of a given element in the cursor tag
     
           function Length
             (Cursor_Tag : access Dynamic.Cursor_Tag;
              Var_Name   : in     String;
              Path       : in     Dynamic.Path) return Natural is abstract;
           --  Must return the number of item for the given path. The first
           --  dimension is given by the Path (1), for the second column the Path is
           --  (1, 2). Note that each dimension can have a different length. For
           --  example a Matrix is not necessary square.
     
           function Value
             (Cursor_Tag : access Dynamic.Cursor_Tag;
              Var_Name   : in     String;
              Path       : in     Dynamic.Path) return String is abstract;
           --  Must return the value for the variable at the given Path. Note that
           --  this routine will be called only for valid items as given by the
           --  Dimension and Length above.
     
           Null_Cursor_Tag : constant Cursor_Tag_Access;
     
        private
        --  implementation removed
     end Templates_Parser;

Next: Templates_Parser.Utils, Previous: Templates_Parser, Up: Templates_Parser API Reference

A.2 Templates_Parser.Debug

     ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
     --                             Templates Parser                             --
     --                                                                          --
     --                         Copyright (C) 2004 - 2005                        --
     --                                 AdaCore                                  --
     --                                                                          --
     --  This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify    --
     --  it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by    --
     --  the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at   --
     --  your option) any later version.                                         --
     --                                                                          --
     --  This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but     --
     --  WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of              --
     --  MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU       --
     --  General Public License for more details.                                --
     --                                                                          --
     --  You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License       --
     --  along with this library; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, --
     --  Inc., 59 Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA.          --
     --                                                                          --
     ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
     
     package Templates_Parser.Debug is
     
        procedure Print (T : in Tag);
        --  Print tag representation
     
        procedure Print_Tree (Filename : in String);
        --  Print tree for template Filename
     
     end Templates_Parser.Debug;

Next: Templates_Parser.XML, Previous: Templates_Parser.Debug, Up: Templates_Parser API Reference

A.3 Templates_Parser.Utils

     ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
     --                             Templates Parser                             --
     --                                                                          --
     --                         Copyright (C) 2004 - 2005                        --
     --                                 AdaCore                                  --
     --                                                                          --
     --  This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify    --
     --  it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by    --
     --  the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at   --
     --  your option) any later version.                                         --
     --                                                                          --
     --  This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but     --
     --  WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of              --
     --  MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU       --
     --  General Public License for more details.                                --
     --                                                                          --
     --  You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License       --
     --  along with this library; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, --
     --  Inc., 59 Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA.          --
     --                                                                          --
     ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
     
     package Templates_Parser.Utils is
     
        function Image (T : in Tag) return String;
        --  Returns a string representation for this tag
     
        function Value (T : in String) return Tag;
        --  Give a string representation of a tag (as encoded with Image above),
        --  build the corresponding Tag object. Raises Constraint_Error if T is
        --  not a valid tag representation.
     
     end Templates_Parser.Utils;

Previous: Templates_Parser.Utils, Up: Templates_Parser API Reference

A.4 Templates_Parser.XML

     ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
     --                             Templates Parser                             --
     --                                                                          --
     --                         Copyright (C) 2004 - 2005                        --
     --                                 AdaCore                                  --
     --                                                                          --
     --  This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify    --
     --  it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by    --
     --  the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at   --
     --  your option) any later version.                                         --
     --                                                                          --
     --  This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but     --
     --  WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of              --
     --  MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU       --
     --  General Public License for more details.                                --
     --                                                                          --
     --  You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License       --
     --  along with this library; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, --
     --  Inc., 59 Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA.          --
     --                                                                          --
     ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
     
     --  This API provides a way to save a Translate_Set as an XML document.
     --  There is special rules to know about composite tags.
     --
     --  Composite tags :
     --
     --     If a tag named TAG exists, then the name TAG_DESCRIPTION is used as a
     --     description for this specific tag.
     --
     --  Composite tags (more than one nested level)
     --
     --     If a tag named TAG exists, then the names TAG_DIM[n]_LABELS is used as
     --     a set of labels for the tag's nth axis. In this case TAG_DIM[n]_LABELS
     --     must be a vector tag, each entry corresponds to a label on this
     --     axis. Also TAG_DIM[n]_DESCRIPTION is used as a description for this
     --     axis.
     --
     --  Here is the DTD :
     --
     --  <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
     --  <!--Description of a tag or dimension (ex: year)-->
     --  <!ELEMENT Description (#PCDATA)>
     --  <!--a dimension-->
     --  <!ELEMENT Dim (Description, Labels)>
     --  <!ATTLIST Dim
     --      n CDATA #REQUIRED
     --  >
     --  <!--entry of a CompositeTag-->
     --  <!ELEMENT Entry (ind+, V)>
     --  <!--label of an indice of a dimension (ex: 2000)-->
     --  <!ELEMENT Label (#PCDATA)>
     --  <!ATTLIST Label
     --      ind CDATA #REQUIRED
     --  >
     --  <!--list of labels of one dimension (ex: 1999, 2000, 2001)-->
     --  <!ELEMENT Labels (Label+)>
     --  <!--alias and information-->
     --  <!ELEMENT Tag (Name, Description)>
     --  <!--tagged data to be published in templates-->
     --  <!ELEMENT Tagged (SimpleTag*, CompositeTag*)>
     --  <!--simple variable value-->
     --  <!ELEMENT V (#PCDATA)>
     --  <!ELEMENT ind (#PCDATA)>
     --  <!ATTLIST ind
     --      n CDATA #REQUIRED
     --  >
     --  <!--identification name for this tag-->
     --  <!ELEMENT Name (#PCDATA)>
     --  <!--Tag with no dimension (simple variable)-->
     --  <!ELEMENT SimpleTag (Tag, V)>
     --  <!--Tag with one or more dimensions-->
     --  <!ELEMENT CompositeTag (Tag, Dim+, Entry)>
     
     package Templates_Parser.XML is
     
        function Image (Translations : in Translate_Set) return Unbounded_String;
        --  Returns a string representation encoded in XML for this
        --  translate table.
     
        function Value (Translations : in String) return Translate_Set;
        --  Returns a translate set for this string representation
     
        function Value (Translations : in Unbounded_String) return Translate_Set;
        --  Save as above but based on an Ubounded_String
     
        function Load (Filename : in String) return Translate_Set;
        --  Read XML document Filename and create the corresponding Translate_set
     
        procedure Save (Filename : in String; Translations : in Translate_Set);
        --  Write the translate table into filename
     
     end Templates_Parser.XML;

Previous: Templates_Parser API Reference, Up: Top

Index

@_DAY_@: Other variable tags
@_DAY_NAME_@: Other variable tags
@_HOUR_@: Other variable tags
@_MINUTE_@: Other variable tags
@_MONTH_@: Other variable tags
@_MONTH_NAME_@: Other variable tags
@_NOW_@: Other variable tags
@_NUMBER_LINE_@: TABLE tag statement
@_SECOND_@: Other variable tags
@_TABLE_LEVEL_@: TABLE tag statement
@_TABLE_LINE_@: TABLE tag statement
@_UP_TABLE_LINE_@: TABLE tag statement
@_YEAR_@: Other variable tags
Attribute, 'Length: Attributes
Attribute, 'Line: Attributes
Attribute, 'Max_Column: Attributes
Attribute, 'Min_Column: Attributes
Attribute, 'Up_Level: Attributes
Command, @@–: Comments tag statement
Command, comments: Comments tag statement
Command, IF: IF tag statement
Command, IF expression: IF tag statement
Command, INCLUDE: INCLUDE tag statement
Command, INLINE: INLINE tag statement
Command, REVERSE: TABLE tag statement
Command, SET: SET tag statement
Command, TABLE: TABLE tag statement
Command, TERMINATE_SECTIONS: TABLE tag statement
Cursor_Tag: Cursor_Tag
Debug: Debug
Dynamic tags: Dynamic tags
Filter, "*": Filters
Filter, "+": Filters
Filter, "-": Filters
Filter, "/": Filters
Filter, ABS: Filters
Filter, ADD_PARAM: Filters
Filter, BR_2_EOL: Filters
Filter, BR_2_LF: Filters
Filter, CAPITALIZE: Filters
Filter, CLEAN_TEXT: Filters
Filter, COMA_2_POINT: Filters
Filter, CONTRACT: Filters
Filter, DEL_PARAM: Filters
Filter, EXIST: Filters
Filter, FILE_EXISTS: Filters
Filter, FORMAT_DATE: Filters
Filter, FORMAT_NUMBER: Filters
Filter, IS_EMPTY: Filters
Filter, LF_2_BR: Filters
Filter, LOWER: Filters
Filter, MATCH: Filters
Filter, MAX: Filters
Filter, MIN: Filters
Filter, MOD: Filters
Filter, NEG: Filters
Filter, NO_DIGIT: Filters
Filter, NO_DYNAMIC: Filters
Filter, NO_LETTER: Filters
Filter, NO_SPACE: Filters
Filter, OUI_NON: Filters
Filter, POINT_2_COMA: Filters
Filter, REPEAT: Filters
Filter, REPLACE: Filters
Filter, REPLACE_ALL: Filters
Filter, REPLACE_PARAM: Filters
Filter, REVERSE: Filters
Filter, SIZE: Filters
Filter, SLICE: Filters
Filter, TRIM: Filters
Filter, UPPER: Filters
Filter, WEB_ENCODE: Filters
Filter, WEB_ESCAPE: Filters
Filter, WEB_NBSP: Filters
Filter, WRAP: Filters
Filter, YES_NO: Filters
Filters: Filters and Attributes
Lazy_Tag: Lazy_Tag
Tag utils: Tag utils
Tag, boolean: Discrete Boolean Composite
Tag, composite: Discrete Boolean Composite
Tag, discrete: Discrete Boolean Composite
Templates_Parser: Templates_Parser
Templates_Parser.Debug: Templates_Parser.Debug
Templates_Parser.Utils: Templates_Parser.Utils
Templates_Parser.XML: Templates_Parser.XML
Translate_Set: Translations
Translate_Table: Translations
XML: XML representation

Templates Parser User's Guide

Table of Contents

Templates Parser

1 Introduction

2 What is a tag ?

3 Variable tags

3.1 Discrete Boolean Composite

3.2 Filters and Attributes

3.2.1 Filters

3.2.2 User defined filters

3.2.3 Attributes

3.3 Other variable tags

4 Translations

5 Tag statements

5.1 Comments tag statement

5.2 INCLUDE tag statement

5.3 IF tag statement

5.4 TABLE tag statement

5.5 SET tag statement

5.6 INLINE tag statement

6 Other services

6.1 Dynamic tags

6.1.1 Lazy_Tag

6.1.2 Cursor_Tag

6.2 Tag utils

6.3 XML representation

6.4 Debug

7 Last notes

Appendix A Templates_Parser API Reference

A.1 Templates_Parser

A.2 Templates_Parser.Debug

A.3 Templates_Parser.Utils

A.4 Templates_Parser.XML

Index