Qiq templates are native PHP templates, with an optional {{ ... }} syntax for
concise escaping and helper use.
Qiq will not echo any output itself, unless the opening tag starts with a recognized escaping character:
{{ ... }} will not echo at all by itself{{= ... }} will echo raw unescaped output{{h ... }} will echo escaped for HTML content{{a ... }} will echo escaped for HTML attributes{{u ... }} will echo escaped for URLs{{c ... }} will echo escaped for CSS{{j ... }} will echo escaped for JavaScriptThe {{a ... }} tag offers the additional ability to output an array, using
the key as the attribute label and the value as the attribute value; multiple
attribute values will be space-separated. The following Qiq code ...
<span {{a ['id' => 'foo', 'class' => ['bar', 'baz', 'dib']] }}>Text</span>
... will render as:
<span id="foo" class="bar baz dib">Text</span>
You can echo just about any variable, literal, function, method, expression, or
constant, including the magic constants __DIR__, __FILE__, and __LINE__.
{{h $this->foo }}
{{h $foo }}
{{h "foo" }}
{{h 1 + 2 }}
{{h __FILE__ }}
{{h PHP_EOL }}
{{h $person->firstName() }}
{{h time() }}
If you need to embed double curly braces literally, and not have them interpreted as Qiq tags, put a backslash between the braces. The following Qiq code ...
{{ /* this is qiq code */ }}
{\{ this is not qiq code }\}
... will compile to this PHP code:
<?php /* this is qiq code */ ?>
{{ this is not qiq code }}
All control structures are written exactly as in PHP, using the
alternative control structure syntax
when available, inside {{ ... }} Qiq tags.
For example, this Qiq code ...
{{ foreach ($foo as $bar => $baz): }}
{{ if ($baz === 0): }}
{{= "First element!" }}
{{ else: }}
{{= "Not the first element." }}
{{ endif }}
{{ endforeach }}
... is the same as this PHP code:
<?php foreach ($foo as $bar => $baz): ?>
<?php if ($bar === 0): ?>
<?= "First element!" ?><?= PHP_EOL ?>
<?php else: ?>
<?= "Not the first element." ?><?= PHP_EOL ?>
<?php endif ?>
<?php endforeach ?>
Qiq syntax recognizes most PHP control structures:
break
continue
declare
for, endfor
foreach, endforeach
goto
if, elseif, else, endif
include, include_once
require, require_once
while, endwhile
Qiq does not recognize else if, switch, case, or match; for these, you
can always fall back to plain PHP.
Qiq recognizes the following reserved words.
empty
isset
list
namespace
use
Any opening keyword Qiq does not recognize is treated as a template helper method. The following Qiq syntax ...
{{= label ("Street Address", ['for' => 'street']) }}
{{= textField ([
'name' => 'street',
'value' => $this->street,
]) }}
... is equivalent to this PHP code with Qiq helpers:
<?= $this->label("Street Address", ['for' => 'street']) ?>
<?= $this->textField([
'name' => 'street',
'value' => $this->street,
]) ?>
Qiq treats all other code inside {{ ... }} tags as plain old PHP code. For
example, this Qiq syntax ...
{{ $title = "Prefix: " . $this->title . " (Suffix)" }}
<title>{{h $title}}</title>
... is equivalent to this PHP code with Qiq helpers:
<?php $title = "Prefix: " . $this->title . " (Suffix)" ?>
<title><?= $this->h($title) ?></title>
Qiq goes to some lengths to help control whitespace in output, to keep the compiled template code on the same lines as in the source template, and to help make sure the output is formatted nicely.
Qiq offers intuitive handling of newlines around tags:
Non-echoing Qiq tags, just as with plain PHP, will consume any single trailing newline immediately after the closing tag.
Echoing Qiq tags, whether raw or escaped, will honor any single trailing newline immediately after the closing tag.
For example, this Qiq code ...
{{ if ($this->condition): }}
{{= "foo" }}
{{ endif; }}
... compiles to this PHP code:
<?php if ($this->condition): ?>
<?= "foo" ?><?= PHP_EOL ?>
<?php endif ?>
Non-echoing Qiq can be made to echo a single leading newline by using a tilde with the opening tag. This Qiq code ...
{{~ foreach ($foo as $bar): }}
...
{{~ endforeach }}
... compiles to this PHP code:
<?= PHP_EOL ?><?php foreach ($foo as $bar): ?>
...
<?= PHP_EOL ?><?php endforeach ?>
This is especially useful with looping output code, where you want to honor newlines at the very beginning and very end of the loop.
Echoing Qiq can be made to consume a single trailing newline by using a tilde with the closing tag. This Qiq code ...
{{h $foo ~}}
... compiles to this PHP code:
<?= $this->h($foo) ?>
A tilde with the closing tag has no effect on non-echoing Qiq code.
Echoing Qiq tags will automatically set the current indent for helpers based on the leading whitespace before the opening Qiq tag.
This Qiq code ...
<ul>
{{= $this->items(['foo', 'bar', 'baz']) }}
</ul>
... compiles to this PHP code:
<ul>
<?php \Qiq\Indent::set(' ') ?><?= $this->items(['foo', 'bar', 'baz']) ?>
</ul>