perldoc > Template::Manual::Config

NAME
    Template::Manual::Config - Configuration options

Template Style and Parsing Options
  ENCODING
    The "ENCODING" option specifies the template files' character encoding:

        my $template = Template->new({
            ENCODING => 'utf8',
        });

    A template which starts with a Unicode byte order mark (BOM) will have its encoding detected
    automatically.

  START_TAG, END_TAG
    The "START_TAG" and "END_TAG" options are used to specify character sequences or regular
    expressions that mark the start and end of inline template directives. The default values for
    "START_TAG" and "END_TAG" are '"[%"' and '"%]"' respectively, giving us the familiar directive
    style:

        [% example %]

    Any Perl regex characters can be used and therefore should be escaped (or use the Perl
    "quotemeta" function) if they are intended to represent literal characters.

        my $template = Template->new({
            START_TAG => quotemeta('<+'),
            END_TAG   => quotemeta('+>'),
        });

    Example:

        <+ INCLUDE foobar +>

    The "TAGS" directive can also be used to set the "START_TAG" and "END_TAG" values on a
    per-template file basis.

        [% TAGS <+ +> %]

  OUTLINE_TAG
    The "OUTLINE_TAG" option can be used to enable single-line "outline" directives.

        my $template = Template->new({
            OUTLINE_TAG => '%%',
        });

    This allows you to use both inline and outline tags like so:

        %% IF user
        Hello [% user.name %]
        %% END

    The "OUTLINE_TAG" string (or regex) must appear at the start of a line. The directive continues
    until the end of the line. The newline character at the end of the line is considered to be the
    invisible end-of-directive marker and is removed.

  TAG_STYLE
    The "TAG_STYLE" option can be used to set both "START_TAG" and "END_TAG" according to
    pre-defined tag styles.

        my $template = Template->new({
            TAG_STYLE => 'star',
        });

    Available styles are:

        template    [% ... %]               (default)
        template1   [% ... %] or %% ... %%  (TT version 1)
        metatext    %% ... %%               (Text::MetaText)
        star        [* ... *]               (TT alternate)
        php         <? ... ?>               (PHP)
        asp         <% ... %>               (ASP)
        mason       <% ...  >               (HTML::Mason)
        html        <!-- ... -->            (HTML comments)

    The "outline" style uses the default markers for "START_TAG" and "END_TAG" ("[%" and "%]"
    respectively) and additionally defines "OUTLINE_TAG" to be "%%".

        my $template = Template->new({
            TAG_STYLE => 'outline',
        });

    This allows you to use both inline and outline tags like so:

        %% IF user
        Hello [% user.name %]
        %% END

    Any values specified for "START_TAG", "END_TAG" and/or "OUTLINE_TAG" will override those defined
    by a "TAG_STYLE".

    The "TAGS" directive may also be used to set a "TAG_STYLE"

        [% TAGS html %]
        <!-- INCLUDE header -->

  PRE_CHOMP, POST_CHOMP
    Anything outside a directive tag is considered plain text and is generally passed through
    unaltered (but see the INTERPOLATE option). This includes all whitespace and newlines characters
    surrounding directive tags. Directives that don't generate any output will leave gaps in the
    output document.

    Example:

        Foo
        [% a = 10 %]
        Bar

    Output:

        Foo

        Bar

    The "PRE_CHOMP" and "POST_CHOMP" options can help to clean up some of this extraneous
    whitespace. Both are disabled by default.

        my $template = Template-E<gt>new({
            PRE_CHOMP  => 1,
            POST_CHOMP => 1,
        });

    With "PRE_CHOMP" set to 1, the newline and whitespace preceding a directive at the start of a
    line will be deleted. This has the effect of concatenating a line that starts with a directive
    onto the end of the previous line.

            Foo <----------.
                           |
        ,---(PRE_CHOMP)----'
        |
        `-- [% a = 10 %] --.
                           |
        ,---(POST_CHOMP)---'
        |
        `-> Bar

    With "POST_CHOMP" set to 1, any whitespace after a directive up to and including the newline
    will be deleted. This has the effect of joining a line that ends with a directive onto the start
    of the next line.

    If "PRE_CHOMP" or "POST_CHOMP" is set to 2, all whitespace including any number of newline will
    be removed and replaced with a single space. This is useful for HTML, where (usually) a
    contiguous block of whitespace is rendered the same as a single space.

    With "PRE_CHOMP" or "POST_CHOMP" set to 3, all adjacent whitespace (including newlines) will be
    removed entirely.

    These values are defined as "CHOMP_NONE", "CHOMP_ONE", "CHOMP_COLLAPSE" and "CHOMP_GREEDY"
    constants in the Template::Constants module. "CHOMP_ALL" is also defined as an alias for
    "CHOMP_ONE" to provide backwards compatibility with earlier version of the Template Toolkit.

    Additionally the chomp tag modifiers listed below may also be used for the "PRE_CHOMP" and
    "POST_CHOMP" configuration.

         my $template = Template->new({
            PRE_CHOMP  => '~',
            POST_CHOMP => '-',
         });

    "PRE_CHOMP" and "POST_CHOMP" can be activated for individual directives by placing a '"-"'
    immediately at the start and/or end of the directive.

        [% FOREACH user IN userlist %]
           [%- user -%]
        [% END %]

    This has the same effect as "CHOMP_ONE" in removing all whitespace before or after the directive
    up to and including the newline. The template will be processed as if written:

        [% FOREACH user IN userlist %][% user %][% END %]

    To remove all whitespace including any number of newlines, use the '"~"' character instead.

        [% FOREACH user IN userlist %]

           [%~ user ~%]

        [% END %]

    To collapse all whitespace to a single space, use the '"="' character.

        [% FOREACH user IN userlist %]

           [%= user =%]

        [% END %]

    Here the template is processed as if written:

        [% FOREACH user IN userlist %] [% user %] [% END %]

    If you have "PRE_CHOMP" or "POST_CHOMP" set as configuration options then you can use '"+"' to
    disable any chomping options (i.e. leave the whitespace intact) on a per-directive basis.

        [% FOREACH user IN userlist %]
        User: [% user +%]
        [% END %]

    With "POST_CHOMP" set to "CHOMP_ONE", the above example would be parsed as if written:

        [% FOREACH user IN userlist %]User: [% user %]
        [% END %]

    For reference, the "PRE_CHOMP" and "POST_CHOMP" configuration options may be set to any of the
    following:

         Constant      Value   Tag Modifier
         ----------------------------------
         CHOMP_NONE      0          +
         CHOMP_ONE       1          -
         CHOMP_COLLAPSE  2          =
         CHOMP_GREEDY    3          ~

  TRIM
    The "TRIM" option can be set to have any leading and trailing whitespace automatically removed
    from the output of all template files and "BLOCK"s.

    By example, the following "BLOCK" definition

        [% BLOCK foo %]
        Line 1 of foo
        [% END %]

    will be processed is as ""\nLine 1 of foo\n"". When "INCLUDE"d, the surrounding newlines will
    also be introduced.

        before
        [% INCLUDE foo %]
        after

    Generated output:

        before

        Line 1 of foo

        after

    With the "TRIM" option set to any true value, the leading and trailing newlines (which count as
    whitespace) will be removed from the output of the "BLOCK".

        before
        Line 1 of foo
        after

    The "TRIM" option is disabled (0) by default.

  INTERPOLATE
    The "INTERPOLATE" flag, when set to any true value will cause variable references in plain text
    (i.e. not surrounded by "START_TAG" and "END_TAG") to be recognised and interpolated
    accordingly.

        my $template = Template->new({
            INTERPOLATE => 1,
        });

    Variables should be prefixed by a '"$"' to identify them. Curly braces can be used in the
    familiar Perl/shell style to explicitly scope the variable name where required.

        # INTERPOLATE => 0
        <a href="http://[% server %]/[% help %]">
        <img src="[% images %]/help.gif"></a>
        [% myorg.name %]

        # INTERPOLATE => 1
        <a href="http://$server/$help">
        <img src="$images/help.gif"></a>
        $myorg.name

        # explicit scoping with {  }
        <img src="$images/${icon.next}.gif">

    Note that a limitation in Perl's regex engine restricts the maximum length of an interpolated
    template to around 32 kilobytes or possibly less. Files that exceed this limit in size will
    typically cause Perl to dump core with a segmentation fault. If you routinely process templates
    of this size then you should disable "INTERPOLATE" or split the templates in several smaller
    files or blocks which can then be joined backed together via "PROCESS" or "INCLUDE".

  ANYCASE
    By default, directive keywords should be expressed in UPPER CASE. The "ANYCASE" option can be
    set to allow directive keywords to be specified in any case.

        # ANYCASE => 0 (default)
        [% INCLUDE foobar %]        # OK
        [% include foobar %]        # ERROR
        [% include = 10   %]        # OK, 'include' is a variable

        # ANYCASE => 1
        [% INCLUDE foobar %]        # OK
        [% include foobar %]        # OK
        [% include = 10   %]        # ERROR, 'include' is reserved word

    One side-effect of enabling "ANYCASE" is that you cannot use a variable of the same name as a
    reserved word, regardless of case. The reserved words are currently:

        GET CALL SET DEFAULT INSERT INCLUDE PROCESS WRAPPER
        IF UNLESS ELSE ELSIF FOR FOREACH WHILE SWITCH CASE
        USE PLUGIN FILTER MACRO PERL RAWPERL BLOCK META
        TRY THROW CATCH FINAL NEXT LAST BREAK RETURN STOP
        CLEAR TO STEP AND OR NOT MOD DIV END

    The only lower case reserved words that cannot be used for variables, regardless of the
    "ANYCASE" option, are the operators:

        and or not mod div

Template Files and Blocks
  INCLUDE_PATH
    The "INCLUDE_PATH" is used to specify one or more directories in which template files are
    located. When a template is requested that isn't defined locally as a "BLOCK", each of the
    "INCLUDE_PATH" directories is searched in turn to locate the template file. Multiple directories
    can be specified as a reference to a list or as a single string where each directory is
    delimited by '":"'.

        my $template = Template->new({
            INCLUDE_PATH => '/usr/local/templates',
        });

        my $template = Template->new({
            INCLUDE_PATH => '/usr/local/templates:/tmp/my/templates',
        });

        my $template = Template->new({
            INCLUDE_PATH => [ '/usr/local/templates',
                              '/tmp/my/templates' ],
        });

    On Win32 systems, a little extra magic is invoked, ignoring delimiters that have '":"' followed
    by a '"/"' or '"\"'. This avoids confusion when using directory names like '"C:\Blah Blah"'.

    When specified as a list, the "INCLUDE_PATH" path can contain elements which dynamically
    generate a list of "INCLUDE_PATH" directories. These generator elements can be specified as a
    reference to a subroutine or an object which implements a paths() method.

        my $template = Template->new({
            INCLUDE_PATH => [ '/usr/local/templates',
                              \&incpath_generator,
                              My::IncPath::Generator->new( ... ) ],
        });

    Each time a template is requested and the "INCLUDE_PATH" examined, the subroutine or object
    method will be called. A reference to a list of directories should be returned. Generator
    subroutines should report errors using die(). Generator objects should return undef and make an
    error available via its error() method.

    For example:

        sub incpath_generator {
            # ...some code...

            if ($all_is_well) {
                return \@list_of_directories;
            }
            else {
                die "cannot generate INCLUDE_PATH...\n";
            }
        }

    or:

        package My::IncPath::Generator;

        # Template::Base (or Class::Base) provides error() method
        use Template::Base;
        use base qw( Template::Base );

        sub paths {
            my $self = shift;

            # ...some code...

            if ($all_is_well) {
                return \@list_of_directories;
            }
            else {
                return $self->error("cannot generate INCLUDE_PATH...\n");
            }
        }

        1;

  DELIMITER
    Used to provide an alternative delimiter character sequence for separating paths specified in
    the "INCLUDE_PATH". The default value for "DELIMITER" is '":"'.

        my $template = Template->new({
            DELIMITER    => '; ',
            INCLUDE_PATH => 'C:/HERE/NOW; D:/THERE/THEN',
        });

    On Win32 systems, the default delimiter is a little more intelligent, splitting paths only on
    '":"' characters that aren't followed by a '"/"'. This means that the following should work as
    planned, splitting the "INCLUDE_PATH" into 2 separate directories, "C:/foo" and "C:/bar".

        # on Win32 only
        my $template = Template->new({
            INCLUDE_PATH => 'C:/Foo:C:/Bar'
        });

    However, if you're using Win32 then it's recommended that you explicitly set the "DELIMITER"
    character to something else (e.g. '";"') rather than rely on this subtle magic.

  ABSOLUTE
    The "ABSOLUTE" flag is used to indicate if templates specified with absolute filenames (e.g.
    '"/foo/bar"') should be processed. It is disabled by default and any attempt to load a template
    by such a name will cause a '"file"' exception to be raised.

        my $template = Template->new({
            ABSOLUTE => 1,
        });

        # this is why it's disabled by default
        [% INSERT /etc/passwd %]

    On Win32 systems, the regular expression for matching absolute pathnames is tweaked slightly to
    also detect filenames that start with a driver letter and colon, such as:

        C:/Foo/Bar

  RELATIVE
    The "RELATIVE" flag is used to indicate if templates specified with filenames relative to the
    current directory (e.g. '"./foo/bar"' or '"../../some/where/else"') should be loaded. It is also
    disabled by default, and will raise a '"file"' error if such template names are encountered.

        my $template = Template->new({
            RELATIVE => 1,
        });

        [% INCLUDE ../logs/error.log %]

  DEFAULT
    The "DEFAULT" option can be used to specify a default template which should be used whenever a
    specified template can't be found in the "INCLUDE_PATH".

        my $template = Template->new({
            DEFAULT => 'notfound.html',
        });

    If a non-existent template is requested through the Template process() method, or by an
    "INCLUDE", "PROCESS" or "WRAPPER" directive, then the "DEFAULT" template will instead be
    processed, if defined. Note that the "DEFAULT" template is not used when templates are specified
    with absolute or relative filenames, or as a reference to a input file handle or text string.

  BLOCKS
    The "BLOCKS" option can be used to pre-define a default set of template blocks. These should be
    specified as a reference to a hash array mapping template names to template text, subroutines or
    Template::Document objects.

        my $template = Template->new({
            BLOCKS => {
                header  => 'The Header.  [% title %]',
                footer  => sub { return $some_output_text },
                another => Template::Document->new({ ... }),
            },
        });

  VIEWS
    The VIEWS option can be used to define one or more Template::View objects. They can be specified
    as a reference to a hash array or list reference.

        my $template = Template->new({
            VIEWS => {
                my_view => { prefix => 'my_templates/' },
            },
        });

    Be aware of the fact that Perl's hash array are unordered, so if you want to specify multiple
    views of which one or more are based on other views, then you should use a list reference to
    preserve the order of definition.

        my $template = Template->new({
            VIEWS => [
                bottom => { prefix => 'bottom/' },
                middle => { prefix => 'middle/', base => 'bottom' },
                top    => { prefix => 'top/',    base => 'middle' },
            ],
        });

  AUTO_RESET
    The "AUTO_RESET" option is set by default and causes the local "BLOCKS" cache for the
    Template::Context object to be reset on each call to the Template process() method. This ensures
    that any "BLOCK"s defined within a template will only persist until that template is finished
    processing. This prevents "BLOCK"s defined in one processing request from interfering with other
    independent requests subsequently processed by the same context object.

    The "BLOCKS" item may be used to specify a default set of block definitions for the
    Template::Context object. Subsequent "BLOCK" definitions in templates will over-ride these but
    they will be reinstated on each reset if "AUTO_RESET" is enabled (default), or if the
    Template::Context reset() method is called.

  RECURSION
    The template processor will raise a file exception if it detects direct or indirect recursion
    into a template. Setting this option to any true value will allow templates to include each
    other recursively.

Template Variables
  VARIABLES
    The "VARIABLES" option (or "PRE_DEFINE" - they're equivalent) can be used to specify a hash
    array of template variables that should be used to pre-initialise the stash when it is created.
    These items are ignored if the "STASH" item is defined.

        my $template = Template->new({
            VARIABLES => {
                title   => 'A Demo Page',
                author  => 'Joe Random Hacker',
                version => 3.14,
            },
        };

    or

        my $template = Template->new({
            PRE_DEFINE => {
                title   => 'A Demo Page',
                author  => 'Joe Random Hacker',
                version => 3.14,
            },
        };

  CONSTANTS
    The "CONSTANTS" option can be used to specify a hash array of template variables that are
    compile-time constants. These variables are resolved once when the template is compiled, and
    thus don't require further resolution at runtime. This results in significantly faster
    processing of the compiled templates and can be used for variables that don't change from one
    request to the next.

        my $template = Template->new({
            CONSTANTS => {
                title   => 'A Demo Page',
                author  => 'Joe Random Hacker',
                version => 3.14,
            },
        };

  CONSTANT_NAMESPACE
    Constant variables are accessed via the "constants" namespace by default.

        [% constants.title %]

    The "CONSTANTS_NAMESPACE" option can be set to specify an alternate namespace.

        my $template = Template->new({
            CONSTANTS => {
                title   => 'A Demo Page',
                # ...etc...
            },
            CONSTANTS_NAMESPACE => 'const',
        };

    In this case the constants would then be accessed as:

        [% const.title %]

  NAMESPACE
    The constant folding mechanism described above is an example of a namespace handler. Namespace
    handlers can be defined to provide alternate parsing mechanisms for variables in different
    namespaces.

    Under the hood, the Template module converts a constructor configuration such as:

        my $template = Template->new({
            CONSTANTS => {
                title   => 'A Demo Page',
                # ...etc...
            },
            CONSTANTS_NAMESPACE => 'const',
        };

    into one like:

        my $template = Template->new({
            NAMESPACE => {
                const => Template:::Namespace::Constants->new({
                    title   => 'A Demo Page',
                    # ...etc...
                }),
            },
        };

    You can use this mechanism to define multiple constant namespaces, or to install custom handlers
    of your own.

        my $template = Template->new({
            NAMESPACE => {
                site => Template:::Namespace::Constants->new({
                    title   => "Wardley's Widgets",
                    version => 2.718,
                }),
                author => Template:::Namespace::Constants->new({
                    name  => 'Andy Wardley',
                    email => 'abw AT andywardley.com',
                }),
                voodoo => My::Namespace::Handler->new( ... ),
            },
        };

    Now you have two constant namespaces, for example:

        [% site.title %]
        [% author.name %]

    as well as your own custom namespace handler installed for the 'voodoo' namespace.

        [% voodoo.magic %]

    See Template::Namespace::Constants for an example of what a namespace handler looks like on the
    inside.

Template Processing Options
    The following options are used to specify any additional templates that should be processed
    before, after, around or instead of the template passed as the first argument to the Template
    process() method. These options can be perform various useful tasks such as adding standard
    headers or footers to all pages, wrapping page output in other templates, pre-defining variables
    or performing initialisation or cleanup tasks, automatically generating page summary
    information, navigation elements, and so on.

    The task of processing the template is delegated internally to the Template::Service module
    which, unsurprisingly, also has a process() method. Any templates defined by the "PRE_PROCESS"
    option are processed first and any output generated is added to the output buffer. Then the main
    template is processed, or if one or more "PROCESS" templates are defined then they are instead
    processed in turn. In this case, one of the "PROCESS" templates is responsible for processing
    the main template, by a directive such as:

        [% PROCESS $template %]

    The output of processing the main template or the "PROCESS" template(s) is then wrapped in any
    "WRAPPER" templates, if defined. "WRAPPER" templates don't need to worry about explicitly
    processing the template because it will have been done for them already. Instead "WRAPPER"
    templates access the content they are wrapping via the "content" variable.

        wrapper before
        [% content %]
        wrapper after

    This output generated from processing the main template, and/or any "PROCESS" or "WRAPPER"
    templates is added to the output buffer. Finally, any "POST_PROCESS" templates are processed and
    their output is also added to the output buffer which is then returned.

    If the main template throws an exception during processing then any relevant template(s) defined
    via the "ERROR" option will be processed instead. If defined and successfully processed, the
    output from the error template will be added to the output buffer in place of the template that
    generated the error and processing will continue, applying any "WRAPPER" and "POST_PROCESS"
    templates. If no relevant "ERROR" option is defined, or if the error occurs in one of the
    "PRE_PROCESS", "WRAPPER" or "POST_PROCESS" templates, then the process will terminate
    immediately and the error will be returned.

  PRE_PROCESS, POST_PROCESS
    These values may be set to contain the name(s) of template files (relative to "INCLUDE_PATH")
    which should be processed immediately before and/or after each template. These do not get added
    to templates processed into a document via directives such as "INCLUDE", "PROCESS", "WRAPPER"
    etc.

        my $template = Template->new({
            PRE_PROCESS  => 'header',
            POST_PROCESS => 'footer',
        };

    Multiple templates may be specified as a reference to a list. Each is processed in the order
    defined.

        my $template = Template->new({
            PRE_PROCESS  => [ 'config', 'header' ],
            POST_PROCESS => 'footer',
        };

    Alternately, multiple template may be specified as a single string, delimited by '":"'. This
    delimiter string can be changed via the "DELIMITER" option.

        my $template = Template->new({
            PRE_PROCESS  => 'config:header',
            POST_PROCESS => 'footer',
        };

    The "PRE_PROCESS" and "POST_PROCESS" templates are evaluated in the same variable context as the
    main document and may define or update variables for subsequent use.

    config:

        [% # set some site-wide variables
           bgcolor = '#ffffff'
           version = 2.718
        %]

    header:

        [% DEFAULT title = 'My Funky Web Site' %]
        <html>
          <head>
            <title>[% title %]</title>
          </head>
          <body bgcolor="[% bgcolor %]">

    footer:

            <hr>
            Version [% version %]
          </body>
        </html>

    The Template::Document object representing the main template being processed is available within
    "PRE_PROCESS" and "POST_PROCESS" templates as the "template" variable. Metadata items defined
    via the "META" directive may be accessed accordingly.

        $template->process('mydoc.html', $vars);

    mydoc.html:

        [% META title = 'My Document Title' %]
        blah blah blah
        ...

    header:

        <html>
          <head>
            <title>[% template.title %]</title>
          </head>
          <body bgcolor="[% bgcolor %]">

  PROCESS
    The "PROCESS" option may be set to contain the name(s) of template files (relative to
    "INCLUDE_PATH") which should be processed instead of the main template passed to the Template
    process() method. This can be used to apply consistent wrappers around all templates, similar to
    the use of "PRE_PROCESS" and "POST_PROCESS" templates.

        my $template = Template->new({
            PROCESS  => 'content',
        };

        # processes 'content' instead of 'foo.html'
        $template->process('foo.html');

    A reference to the original template is available in the "template" variable. Metadata items can
    be inspected and the template can be processed by specifying it as a variable reference (i.e.
    prefixed by "$") to an "INCLUDE", "PROCESS" or "WRAPPER" directive.

    content:

        <html>
          <head>
            <title>[% template.title %]</title>
          </head>
          <body>
        <!-- begin content -->
        [% PROCESS $template %]
        <!-- end content -->
            <hr>
            &copy; Copyright [% template.copyright %]
          </body>
        </html>

    foo.html:

        [% META
           title     = 'The Foo Page'
           author    = 'Fred Foo'
           copyright = '2000 Fred Foo'
        %]
        <h1>[% template.title %]</h1>
        Welcome to the Foo Page, blah blah blah

    output:

        <html>
          <head>
            <title>The Foo Page</title>
          </head>
          <body>
        <!-- begin content -->
        <h1>The Foo Page</h1>
        Welcome to the Foo Page, blah blah blah
        <!-- end content -->
            <hr>
            &copy; Copyright 2000 Fred Foo
          </body>
        </html>

  WRAPPER
    The "WRAPPER" option can be used to specify one or more templates which should be used to wrap
    around the output of the main page template. The main template is processed first (or any
    "PROCESS" template(s)) and the output generated is then passed as the "content" variable to the
    "WRAPPER" template(s) as they are processed.

        my $template = Template->new({
            WRAPPER => 'wrapper',
        };

        # process 'foo' then wrap in 'wrapper'
        $template->process('foo', { message => 'Hello World!' });

    wrapper:

        <wrapper>
        [% content %]
        </wrapper>

    foo:

        This is the foo file!
        Message: [% message %]

    The output generated from this example is:

        <wrapper>
        This is the foo file!
        Message: Hello World!
        </wrapper>

    You can specify more than one "WRAPPER" template by setting the value to be a reference to a
    list of templates. The "WRAPPER" templates will be processed in reverse order with the output of
    each being passed to the next (or previous, depending on how you look at it) as the 'content'
    variable. It sounds complicated, but the end result is that it just "Does The Right Thing" to
    make wrapper templates nest in the order you specify.

        my $template = Template->new({
            WRAPPER => [ 'outer', 'inner' ],
        };

        # process 'foo' then wrap in 'inner', then in 'outer'
        $template->process('foo', { message => 'Hello World!' });

    outer:

        <outer>
        [% content %]
        </outer>

    inner:

        <inner>
        [% content %]
        </inner>

    The output generated is then:

        <outer>
        <inner>
        This is the foo file!
        Message: Hello World!
        </inner>
        </outer>

    One side-effect of the "inside-out" processing of the "WRAPPER" configuration item (and also the
    "WRAPPER" directive) is that any variables set in the template being wrapped will be visible to
    the template doing the wrapping, but not the other way around.

    You can use this to good effect in allowing page templates to set pre-defined values which are
    then used in the wrapper templates. For example, our main page template 'foo' might look like
    this:

    foo:

        [% page = {
               title    = 'Foo Page'
               subtitle = 'Everything There is to Know About Foo'
               author   = 'Frank Oliver Octagon'
           }
        %]

        <p>
        Welcome to the page that tells you everything about foo
        blah blah blah...
        </p>

    The "foo" template is processed before the wrapper template meaning that the "page" data
    structure will be defined for use in the wrapper template.

    wrapper:

        <html>
          <head>
            <title>[% page.title %]</title>
          </head>
          <body>
            <h1>[% page.title %]</h1>
            <h2>[% page.subtitle %]</h1>
            <h3>by [% page.author %]</h3>
            [% content %]
          </body>
        </html>

    It achieves the same effect as defining "META" items which are then accessed via the "template"
    variable (which you are still free to use within "WRAPPER" templates), but gives you more
    flexibility in the type and complexity of data that you can define.

  ERROR
    The "ERROR" (or "ERRORS" if you prefer) configuration item can be used to name a single template
    or specify a hash array mapping exception types to templates which should be used for error
    handling. If an uncaught exception is raised from within a template then the appropriate error
    template will instead be processed.

    If specified as a single value then that template will be processed for all uncaught exceptions.

        my $template = Template->new({
            ERROR => 'error.html'
        });

    If the "ERROR" item is a hash reference the keys are assumed to be exception types and the
    relevant template for a given exception will be selected. A "default" template may be provided
    for the general case. Note that "ERROR" can be pluralised to "ERRORS" if you find it more
    appropriate in this case.

        my $template = Template->new({
            ERRORS => {
                user     => 'user/index.html',
                dbi      => 'error/database',
                default  => 'error/default',
            },
        });

    In this example, any "user" exceptions thrown will cause the user/index.html template to be
    processed, "dbi" errors are handled by error/database and all others by the error/default
    template. Any "PRE_PROCESS" and/or "POST_PROCESS" templates will also be applied to these error
    templates.

    Note that exception types are hierarchical and a "foo" handler will catch all "foo.*" errors
    (e.g. "foo.bar", "foo.bar.baz") if a more specific handler isn't defined. Be sure to quote any
    exception types that contain periods to prevent Perl concatenating them into a single string
    (i.e. "user.passwd" is parsed as 'user'.'passwd').

        my $template = Template->new({
            ERROR => {
                'user.login'  => 'user/login.html',
                'user.passwd' => 'user/badpasswd.html',
                'user'        => 'user/index.html',
                'default'     => 'error/default',
            },
        });

    In this example, any template processed by the $template object, or other templates or code
    called from within, can raise a "user.login" exception and have the service redirect to the
    user/login.html template. Similarly, a "user.passwd" exception has a specific handling template,
    user/badpasswd.html, while all other "user" or "user.*" exceptions cause a redirection to the
    user/index.html page. All other exception types are handled by error/default.

    Exceptions can be raised in a template using the "THROW" directive,

        [% THROW user.login 'no user id: please login' %]

    or by calling the throw() method on the current Template::Context object,

        $context->throw('user.passwd', 'Incorrect Password');
        $context->throw('Incorrect Password');    # type 'undef'

    or from Perl code by calling die() with a Template::Exception object,

        die (Template::Exception->new('user.denied', 'Invalid User ID'));

    or by simply calling die() with an error string. This is automagically caught and converted to
    an exception of '"undef"' type which can then be handled in the usual way.

        die "I'm sorry Dave, I can't do that";

    Note that the '"undef"' we're talking about here is a literal string rather than Perl's "undef"
    used to represent undefined values.

Template Runtime Options
  EVAL_PERL
    This flag is used to indicate if "PERL" and/or "RAWPERL" blocks should be evaluated. It is
    disabled by default and any "PERL" or "RAWPERL" blocks encountered will raise exceptions of type
    '"perl"' with the message '"EVAL_PERL not set"'. Note however that any "RAWPERL" blocks should
    always contain valid Perl code, regardless of the "EVAL_PERL" flag. The parser will fail to
    compile templates that contain invalid Perl code in "RAWPERL" blocks and will throw a '"file"'
    exception.

    When using compiled templates (see "Caching and Compiling Options"), the "EVAL_PERL" has an
    affect when the template is compiled, and again when the templates is subsequently processed,
    possibly in a different context to the one that compiled it.

    If the "EVAL_PERL" is set when a template is compiled, then all "PERL" and "RAWPERL" blocks will
    be included in the compiled template. If the "EVAL_PERL" option isn't set, then Perl code will
    be generated which always throws a '"perl"' exception with the message '"EVAL_PERL not set"'
    whenever the compiled template code is run.

    Thus, you must have "EVAL_PERL" set if you want your compiled templates to include "PERL" and
    "RAWPERL" blocks.

    At some point in the future, using a different invocation of the Template Toolkit, you may come
    to process such a pre-compiled template. Assuming the "EVAL_PERL" option was set at the time the
    template was compiled, then the output of any "RAWPERL" blocks will be included in the compiled
    template and will get executed when the template is processed. This will happen regardless of
    the runtime "EVAL_PERL" status.

    Regular "PERL" blocks are a little more cautious, however. If the "EVAL_PERL" flag isn't set for
    the *current* context, that is, the one which is trying to process it, then it will throw the
    familiar '"perl"' exception with the message, '"EVAL_PERL not set"'.

    Thus you can compile templates to include "PERL" blocks, but optionally disable them when you
    process them later. Note however that it is possible for a "PERL" block to contain a Perl
    ""BEGIN { # some code }"" block which will always get run regardless of the runtime "EVAL_PERL"
    status. Thus, if you set "EVAL_PERL" when compiling templates, it is assumed that you trust the
    templates to Do The Right Thing. Otherwise you must accept the fact that there's no bulletproof
    way to prevent any included code from trampling around in the living room of the runtime
    environment, making a real nuisance of itself if it really wants to. If you don't like the idea
    of such uninvited guests causing a bother, then you can accept the default and keep "EVAL_PERL"
    disabled.

  OUTPUT
    Default output location or handler. This may be specified as one of: a file name (relative to
    "OUTPUT_PATH", if defined, or the current working directory if not specified absolutely); a file
    handle (e.g. "GLOB" or IO::Handle) opened for writing; a reference to a text string to which the
    output is appended (the string isn't cleared); a reference to a subroutine which is called,
    passing the output text as an argument; as a reference to an array, onto which the content will
    be push()ed; or as a reference to any object that supports the print() method. This latter
    option includes the "Apache::Request" object which is passed as the argument to Apache/mod_perl
    handlers.

    example 1 (file name):

        my $template = Template->new({
            OUTPUT => "/tmp/foo",
        });

    example 2 (text string):

        my $output   = '';
        my $template = Template->new({
            OUTPUT => \$output,
        });

    example 3 (file handle):

        open (TOUT, "> $file") || die "$file: $!\n";
        my $template = Template->new({
            OUTPUT => \*TOUT,
        });

    example 4 (subroutine):

        sub output { my $out = shift; print "OUTPUT: $out" }
        my $template = Template->new({
            OUTPUT => \&output,
        });

    example 5 (array reference):

        my $template = Template->new({
            OUTPUT => \@output,
        })

    example 6 (Apache/mod_perl handler):

        sub handler {
            my $r = shift;
            my $t = Template->new({
                OUTPUT => $r,
            });
            ...
        }

    The default "OUTPUT" location be overridden by passing a third parameter to the Template
    process() method. This can be specified as any of the above argument types.

        $t->process($file, $vars, "/tmp/foo");
        $t->process($file, $vars, \$output);
        $t->process($file, $vars, \*MYGLOB);
        $t->process($file, $vars, \@output);
        $t->process($file, $vars, $r);  # Apache::Request
        ...

  OUTPUT_PATH
    The "OUTPUT_PATH" allows a directory to be specified into which output files should be written.
    An output file can be specified by the "OUTPUT" option, or passed by name as the third parameter
    to the Template process() method.

        my $template = Template->new({
            INCLUDE_PATH => "/tmp/src",
            OUTPUT_PATH  => "/tmp/dest",
        });

        my $vars = {
            ...
        };

        foreach my $file ('foo.html', 'bar.html') {
            $template->process($file, $vars, $file)
                || die $template->error();
        }

    This example will read the input files /tmp/src/foo.html and /tmp/src/bar.html and write the
    processed output to /tmp/dest/foo.html and /tmp/dest/bar.html, respectively.

  STRICT
    By default the Template Toolkit will silently ignore the use of undefined variables (a bad
    design decision that I regret).

    When the "STRICT" option is set, the use of any undefined variables or values will cause an
    exception to be throw. The exception will have a "type" of "var.undefined" and a message of the
    form "undefined variable: xxx".

        my $template = Template->new(
            STRICT => 1
        );

  DEBUG
    The "DEBUG" option can be used to enable debugging within the various different modules that
    comprise the Template Toolkit. The Template::Constants module defines a set of "DEBUG_XXXX"
    constants which can be combined using the logical OR operator, '"|"'.

        use Template::Constants qw( :debug );

        my $template = Template->new({
            DEBUG => DEBUG_PARSER | DEBUG_PROVIDER,
        });

    For convenience, you can also provide a string containing a list of lower case debug options,
    separated by any non-word characters.

        my $template = Template->new({
            DEBUG => 'parser, provider',
        });

    The following "DEBUG_XXXX" flags can be used:

    DEBUG_SERVICE
        Enables general debugging messages for the Template::Service module.

    DEBUG_CONTEXT
        Enables general debugging messages for the Template::Context module.

    DEBUG_PROVIDER
        Enables general debugging messages for the Template::Provider module.

    DEBUG_PLUGINS
        Enables general debugging messages for the Template::Plugins module.

    DEBUG_FILTERS
        Enables general debugging messages for the Template::Filters module.

    DEBUG_PARSER
        This flag causes the Template::Parser to generate debugging messages that show the Perl code
        generated by parsing and compiling each template.

    DEBUG_UNDEF
        This option causes the Template Toolkit to throw an '"undef"' error whenever it encounters
        an undefined variable value.

    DEBUG_DIRS
        This option causes the Template Toolkit to generate comments indicating the source file,
        line and original text of each directive in the template. These comments are embedded in the
        template output using the format defined in the "DEBUG_FORMAT" configuration item, or a
        simple default format if unspecified.

        For example, the following template fragment:

            Hello World

        would generate this output:

            ## input text line 1 :  ##
            Hello
            ## input text line 2 : World ##
            World

    DEBUG_ALL
        Enables all debugging messages.

    DEBUG_CALLER
        This option causes all debug messages that aren't newline terminated to have the file name
        and line number of the caller appended to them.

  DEBUG_FORMAT
    The "DEBUG_FORMAT" option can be used to specify a format string for the debugging messages
    generated via the "DEBUG_DIRS" option described above. Any occurrences of $file, $line or $text
    will be replaced with the current file name, line or directive text, respectively. Notice how
    the format is single quoted to prevent Perl from interpolating those tokens as variables.

        my $template = Template->new({
            DEBUG => 'dirs',
            DEBUG_FORMAT => '<!-- $file line $line : [% $text %] -->',
        });

    The following template fragment:

        [% foo = 'World' %]
        Hello [% foo %]

    would then generate this output:

        <!-- input text line 2 : [% foo = 'World' %] -->
        Hello <!-- input text line 3 : [% foo %] -->World

    The DEBUG directive can also be used to set a debug format within a template.

        [% DEBUG format '<!-- $file line $line : [% $text %] -->' %]

Caching and Compiling Options
  CACHE_SIZE
    The Template::Provider module caches compiled templates to avoid the need to re-parse template
    files or blocks each time they are used. The "CACHE_SIZE" option is used to limit the number of
    compiled templates that the module should cache.

    By default, the "CACHE_SIZE" is undefined and all compiled templates are cached. When set to any
    positive value, the cache will be limited to storing no more than that number of compiled
    templates. When a new template is loaded and compiled and the cache is full (i.e. the number of
    entries == "CACHE_SIZE"), the least recently used compiled template is discarded to make room
    for the new one.

    The "CACHE_SIZE" can be set to 0 to disable caching altogether.

        my $template = Template->new({
            CACHE_SIZE => 64,   # only cache 64 compiled templates
        });

        my $template = Template->new({
            CACHE_SIZE => 0,   # don't cache any compiled templates
        });

    As well as caching templates as they are found, the Template::Provider also implements negative
    caching to keep track of templates that are *not* found. This allows the provider to quickly
    decline a request for a template that it has previously failed to locate, saving the effort of
    going to look for it again. This is useful when an "INCLUDE_PATH" includes multiple providers,
    ensuring that the request is passed down through the providers as quickly as possible.

  STAT_TTL
    This value can be set to control how long the Template::Provider will keep a template cached in
    memory before checking to see if the source template has changed.

        my $provider = Template::Provider->new({
            STAT_TTL => 60,  # one minute
        });

    The default value is 1 (second). You'll probably want to set this to a higher value if you're
    running the Template Toolkit inside a persistent web server application (e.g. mod_perl). For
    example, set it to 60 and the provider will only look for changes to templates once a minute at
    most. However, during development (or any time you're making frequent changes to templates)
    you'll probably want to keep it set to a low value so that you don't have to wait for the
    provider to notice that your templates have changed.

  COMPILE_EXT
    From version 2 onwards, the Template Toolkit has the ability to compile templates to Perl code
    and save them to disk for subsequent use (i.e. cache persistence). The "COMPILE_EXT" option may
    be provided to specify a filename extension for compiled template files. It is undefined by
    default and no attempt will be made to read or write any compiled template files.

        my $template = Template->new({
            COMPILE_EXT => '.ttc',
        });

    If "COMPILE_EXT" is defined (and "COMPILE_DIR" isn't, see below) then compiled template files
    with the "COMPILE_EXT" extension will be written to the same directory from which the source
    template files were loaded.

    Compiling and subsequent reuse of templates happens automatically whenever the "COMPILE_EXT" or
    "COMPILE_DIR" options are set. The Template Toolkit will automatically reload and reuse compiled
    files when it finds them on disk. If the corresponding source file has been modified since the
    compiled version as written, then it will load and re-compile the source and write a new
    compiled version to disk.

    This form of cache persistence offers significant benefits in terms of time and resources
    required to reload templates. Compiled templates can be reloaded by a simple call to Perl's
    require(), leaving Perl to handle all the parsing and compilation. This is a Good Thing.

  COMPILE_DIR
    The "COMPILE_DIR" option is used to specify an alternate directory root under which compiled
    template files should be saved.

        my $template = Template->new({
            COMPILE_DIR => '/tmp/ttc',
        });

    The "COMPILE_EXT" option may also be specified to have a consistent file extension added to
    these files.

        my $template1 = Template->new({
            COMPILE_DIR => '/tmp/ttc',
            COMPILE_EXT => '.ttc1',
        });

        my $template2 = Template->new({
            COMPILE_DIR => '/tmp/ttc',
            COMPILE_EXT => '.ttc2',
        });

    When "COMPILE_EXT" is undefined, the compiled template files have the same name as the original
    template files, but reside in a different directory tree.

    Each directory in the "INCLUDE_PATH" is replicated in full beneath the "COMPILE_DIR" directory.
    This example:

        my $template = Template->new({
            COMPILE_DIR  => '/tmp/ttc',
            INCLUDE_PATH => '/home/abw/templates:/usr/share/templates',
        });

    would create the following directory structure:

        /tmp/ttc/home/abw/templates/
        /tmp/ttc/usr/share/templates/

    Files loaded from different "INCLUDE_PATH" directories will have their compiled forms save in
    the relevant "COMPILE_DIR" directory.

    On Win32 platforms a filename may by prefixed by a drive letter and colon. e.g.

        C:/My Templates/header

    The colon will be silently stripped from the filename when it is added to the "COMPILE_DIR"
    value(s) to prevent illegal filename being generated. Any colon in "COMPILE_DIR" elements will
    be left intact. For example:

        # Win32 only
        my $template = Template->new({
            DELIMITER    => ';',
            COMPILE_DIR  => 'C:/TT2/Cache',
            INCLUDE_PATH => 'C:/TT2/Templates;D:/My Templates',
        });

    This would create the following cache directories:

        C:/TT2/Cache/C/TT2/Templates
        C:/TT2/Cache/D/My Templates

Plugins and Filters
  PLUGINS
    The "PLUGINS" options can be used to provide a reference to a hash array that maps plugin names
    to Perl module names. A number of standard plugins are defined (e.g. "table", "format", "cgi",
    etc.) which map to their corresponding "Template::Plugin::*" counterparts. These can be
    redefined by values in the "PLUGINS" hash.

        my $template = Template->new({
            PLUGINS => {
                cgi => 'MyOrg::Template::Plugin::CGI',
                foo => 'MyOrg::Template::Plugin::Foo',
                bar => 'MyOrg::Template::Plugin::Bar',
            },
        });

    The recommended convention is to specify these plugin names in lower case. The Template Toolkit
    first looks for an exact case-sensitive match and then tries the lower case conversion of the
    name specified.

        [% USE Foo %]      # look for 'Foo' then 'foo'

    If you define all your "PLUGINS" with lower case names then they will be located regardless of
    how the user specifies the name in the USE directive. If, on the other hand, you define your
    "PLUGINS" with upper or mixed case names then the name specified in the "USE" directive must
    match the case exactly.

    The "USE" directive is used to create plugin objects and does so by calling the plugin() method
    on the current Template::Context object. If the plugin name is defined in the "PLUGINS" hash
    then the corresponding Perl module is loaded via require(). The context then calls the load()
    class method which should return the class name (default and general case) or a prototype object
    against which the new() method can be called to instantiate individual plugin objects.

    If the plugin name is not defined in the "PLUGINS" hash then the "PLUGIN_BASE" and/or
    "LOAD_PERL" options come into effect.

  PLUGIN_BASE
    If a plugin is not defined in the "PLUGINS" hash then the "PLUGIN_BASE" is used to attempt to
    construct a correct Perl module name which can be successfully loaded.

    The "PLUGIN_BASE" can be specified as a reference to an array of module namespaces, or as a
    single value which is automatically converted to a list. The default "PLUGIN_BASE" value
    ("Template::Plugin") is then added to the end of this list.

    example 1:

        my $template = Template->new({
            PLUGIN_BASE => 'MyOrg::Template::Plugin',
        });

        [% USE Foo %]    # => MyOrg::Template::Plugin::Foo
                           or        Template::Plugin::Foo

    example 2:

        my $template = Template->new({
            PLUGIN_BASE => [   'MyOrg::Template::Plugin',
                               'YourOrg::Template::Plugin'  ],
        });

    template:

        [% USE Foo %]    # =>   MyOrg::Template::Plugin::Foo
                           or YourOrg::Template::Plugin::Foo
                           or          Template::Plugin::Foo

    If you don't want the default "Template::Plugin" namespace added to the end of the
    "PLUGIN_BASE", then set the $Template::Plugins::PLUGIN_BASE variable to a false value before
    calling the new() Template#new() constructor method. This is shown in the example below where
    the "Foo" plugin is located as "My::Plugin::Foo" or "Your::Plugin::Foo" but not as
    "Template::Plugin::Foo".

    example 3:

        use Template::Plugins;
        $Template::Plugins::PLUGIN_BASE = '';

        my $template = Template->new({
            PLUGIN_BASE => [   'My::Plugin',
                               'Your::Plugin'  ],
        });

    template:

        [% USE Foo %]    # =>   My::Plugin::Foo
                           or Your::Plugin::Foo

  LOAD_PERL
    If a plugin cannot be loaded using the "PLUGINS" or "PLUGIN_BASE" approaches then the provider
    can make a final attempt to load the module without prepending any prefix to the module path.
    This allows regular Perl modules (i.e. those that don't reside in the Template::Plugin or some
    other such namespace) to be loaded and used as plugins.

    By default, the "LOAD_PERL" option is set to 0 and no attempt will be made to load any Perl
    modules that aren't named explicitly in the "PLUGINS" hash or reside in a package as named by
    one of the "PLUGIN_BASE" components.

    Plugins loaded using the "PLUGINS" or "PLUGIN_BASE" receive a reference to the current context
    object as the first argument to the new() constructor. Modules loaded using "LOAD_PERL" are
    assumed to not conform to the plugin interface. They must provide a new() class method for
    instantiating objects but it will not receive a reference to the context as the first argument.

    Plugin modules should provide a load() class method (or inherit the default one from the
    Template::Plugin base class) which is called the first time the plugin is loaded. Regular Perl
    modules need not. In all other respects, regular Perl objects and Template Toolkit plugins are
    identical.

    If a particular Perl module does not conform to the common, but not unilateral, new()
    constructor convention then a simple plugin wrapper can be written to interface to it.

  FILTERS
    The "FILTERS" option can be used to specify custom filters which can then be used with the
    "FILTER" directive like any other. These are added to the standard filters which are available
    by default. Filters specified via this option will mask any standard filters of the same name.

    The "FILTERS" option should be specified as a reference to a hash array in which each key
    represents the name of a filter. The corresponding value should contain a reference to an array
    containing a subroutine reference and a flag which indicates if the filter is static (0) or
    dynamic (1). A filter may also be specified as a solitary subroutine reference and is assumed to
    be static.

        $template = Template->new({
            FILTERS => {
                'sfilt1' =>   \&static_filter,      # static
                'sfilt2' => [ \&static_filter, 0 ], # same as above
                'dfilt1' => [ \&dyanamic_filter_factory, 1 ],
            },
        });

    Additional filters can be specified at any time by calling the define_filter() method on the
    current Template::Context object. The method accepts a filter name, a reference to a filter
    subroutine and an optional flag to indicate if the filter is dynamic.

        my $context = $template->context();
        $context->define_filter('new_html', \&new_html);
        $context->define_filter('new_repeat', \&new_repeat, 1);

    Static filters are those where a single subroutine reference is used for all invocations of a
    particular filter. Filters that don't accept any configuration parameters (e.g. "html") can be
    implemented statically. The subroutine reference is simply returned when that particular filter
    is requested. The subroutine is called to filter the output of a template block which is passed
    as the only argument. The subroutine should return the modified text.

        sub static_filter {
            my $text = shift;
            # do something to modify $text...
            return $text;
        }

    The following template fragment:

        [% FILTER sfilt1 %]
        Blah blah blah.
        [% END %]

    is approximately equivalent to:

        &static_filter("\nBlah blah blah.\n");

    Filters that can accept parameters (e.g. "truncate") should be implemented dynamically. In this
    case, the subroutine is taken to be a filter 'factory' that is called to create a unique filter
    subroutine each time one is requested. A reference to the current Template::Context object is
    passed as the first parameter, followed by any additional parameters specified. The subroutine
    should return another subroutine reference (usually a closure) which implements the filter.

        sub dynamic_filter_factory {
            my ($context, @args) = @_;

            return sub {
                my $text = shift;
                # do something to modify $text...
                return $text;
            }
        }

    The following template fragment:

        [% FILTER dfilt1(123, 456) %]
        Blah blah blah
        [% END %]

    is approximately equivalent to:

        my $filter = &dynamic_filter_factory($context, 123, 456);
        &$filter("\nBlah blah blah.\n");

    See the "FILTER" directive for further examples.

Customisation and Extension
  LOAD_TEMPLATES
    The "LOAD_TEMPLATES" option can be used to provide a reference to a list of Template::Provider
    objects or sub-classes thereof which will take responsibility for loading and compiling
    templates.

        my $template = Template->new({
            LOAD_TEMPLATES => [
                MyOrg::Template::Provider->new({ ... }),
                Template::Provider->new({ ... }),
            ],
        });

    When a "PROCESS", "INCLUDE" or "WRAPPER" directive is encountered, the named template may refer
    to a locally defined "BLOCK" or a file relative to the "INCLUDE_PATH" (or an absolute or
    relative path if the appropriate "ABSOLUTE" or "RELATIVE" options are set). If a "BLOCK"
    definition can't be found (see the Template::Context template() method for a discussion of
    "BLOCK" locality) then each of the "LOAD_TEMPLATES" provider objects is queried in turn via the
    fetch() method to see if it can supply the required template.

    Each provider can return a compiled template, an error, or decline to service the request in
    which case the responsibility is passed to the next provider. If none of the providers can
    service the request then a 'not found' error is returned. The same basic provider mechanism is
    also used for the "INSERT" directive but it bypasses any "BLOCK" definitions and doesn't attempt
    is to parse or process the contents of the template file.

    If "LOAD_TEMPLATES" is undefined, a single default provider will be instantiated using the
    current configuration parameters. For example, the Template::Provider "INCLUDE_PATH" option can
    be specified in the Template configuration and will be correctly passed to the provider's
    constructor method.

        my $template = Template->new({
            INCLUDE_PATH => '/here:/there',
        });

  LOAD_PLUGINS
    The "LOAD_PLUGINS" options can be used to specify a list of provider objects (i.e. they
    implement the fetch() method) which are responsible for loading and instantiating template
    plugin objects. The Template::Context plugin() method queries each provider in turn in a "Chain
    of Responsibility" as per the template() and filter() methods.

        my $template = Template->new({
            LOAD_PLUGINS => [
                MyOrg::Template::Plugins->new({ ... }),
                Template::Plugins->new({ ... }),
            ],
        });

    By default, a single Template::Plugins object is created using the current configuration hash.
    Configuration items destined for the Template::Plugins constructor may be added to the Template
    constructor.

        my $template = Template->new({
            PLUGIN_BASE => 'MyOrg::Template::Plugins',
            LOAD_PERL   => 1,
        });

  LOAD_FILTERS
    The "LOAD_FILTERS" option can be used to specify a list of provider objects (i.e. they implement
    the fetch() method) which are responsible for returning and/or creating filter subroutines. The
    Template::Context filter() method queries each provider in turn in a "Chain of Responsibility"
    as per the template() and plugin() methods.

        my $template = Template->new({
            LOAD_FILTERS => [
                MyTemplate::Filters->new(),
                Template::Filters->new(),
            ],
        });

    By default, a single Template::Filters object is created for the "LOAD_FILTERS" list.

  TOLERANT
    The "TOLERANT" flag is used by the various Template Toolkit provider modules
    (Template::Provider, Template::Plugins, Template::Filters) to control their behaviour when
    errors are encountered. By default, any errors are reported as such, with the request for the
    particular resource ("template", "plugin", "filter") being denied and an exception raised.

    When the "TOLERANT" flag is set to any true values, errors will be silently ignored and the
    provider will instead return "STATUS_DECLINED". This allows a subsequent provider to take
    responsibility for providing the resource, rather than failing the request outright. If all
    providers decline to service the request, either through tolerated failure or a genuine
    disinclination to comply, then a '"<resource> not found"' exception is raised.

  SERVICE
    A reference to a Template::Service object, or sub-class thereof, to which the Template module
    should delegate. If unspecified, a Template::Service object is automatically created using the
    current configuration hash.

        my $template = Template->new({
            SERVICE => MyOrg::Template::Service->new({ ... }),
        });

  CONTEXT
    A reference to a Template::Context object which is used to define a specific environment in
    which template are processed. A Template::Context object is passed as the only parameter to the
    Perl subroutines that represent "compiled" template documents. Template subroutines make
    callbacks into the context object to access Template Toolkit functionality, for example, to
    "INCLUDE" or "PROCESS" another template (include() and process() methods, respectively), to
    "USE" a plugin (plugin()) or instantiate a filter (filter()) or to access the stash (stash())
    which manages variable definitions via the get() and set() methods.

        my $template = Template->new({
            CONTEXT => MyOrg::Template::Context->new({ ... }),
        });

  STASH
    A reference to a Template::Stash object or sub-class which will take responsibility for managing
    template variables.

        my $stash = MyOrg::Template::Stash->new({ ... });
        my $template = Template->new({
            STASH => $stash,
        });

    If unspecified, a default stash object is created using the "VARIABLES" configuration item to
    initialise the stash variables.

        my $template = Template->new({
            VARIABLES => {
                id    => 'abw',
                name  => 'Andy Wardley',
            },
        };

  PARSER
    The Template::Parser module implements a parser object for compiling templates into Perl code
    which can then be executed. A default object of this class is created automatically and then
    used by the Template::Provider whenever a template is loaded and requires compilation. The
    "PARSER" option can be used to provide a reference to an alternate parser object.

        my $template = Template->new({
            PARSER => MyOrg::Template::Parser->new({ ... }),
        });

  GRAMMAR
    The "GRAMMAR" configuration item can be used to specify an alternate grammar for the parser.
    This allows a modified or entirely new template language to be constructed and used by the
    Template Toolkit.

    Source templates are compiled to Perl code by the Template::Parser using the Template::Grammar
    (by default) to define the language structure and semantics. Compiled templates are thus
    inherently "compatible" with each other and there is nothing to prevent any number of different
    template languages being compiled and used within the same Template Toolkit processing
    environment (other than the usual time and memory constraints).

    The Template::Grammar file is constructed from a YACC like grammar (using "Parse::YAPP") and a
    skeleton module template. These files are provided, along with a small script to rebuild the
    grammar, in the parser sub-directory of the distribution.

    You don't have to know or worry about these unless you want to hack on the template language or
    define your own variant. There is a README file in the same directory which provides some small
    guidance but it is assumed that you know what you're doing if you venture herein. If you grok
    LALR parsers, then you should find it comfortably familiar.

    By default, an instance of the default Template::Grammar will be created and used automatically
    if a "GRAMMAR" item isn't specified.

        use MyOrg::Template::Grammar;

        my $template = Template->new({
            GRAMMAR = MyOrg::Template::Grammar->new();
        });

Template::Manual::Config
NAME Template Style and Parsing Options Template Files and Blocks Template Variables Template Processing Options
process() method. These options can be perform various useful tasks such as adding standard process() method. This can be used to apply consistent wrappers around all templates, similar to
Template Runtime Options
process() method. This can be specified as any of the above argument types.
Caching and Compiling Options
require(), leaving Perl to handle all the parsing and compilation. This is a Good Thing. value(s) to prevent illegal filename being generated. Any colon in "COMPILE_DIR" elements will
Plugins and Filters Customisation and Extension
fetch() method to see if it can supply the required template.

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