I really like the way EJS templates work, because the meta-language (loops, if-then-else, etc.) is just JavaScript. This blog post describes ideas for improving their syntax.
EJS templates
This is an example of an EJS template:
<ul>
<% for(var i=0; i<supplies.length; i++) { %>
<li><%= supplies[i] %></li>
<% } %>
</ul>
I see two problems with this template:
- It outputs empty lines for line 2 and 4.
- The delimiters
<%and%>make the template look cluttered.
Suppressing whitespace
The first problem can be fixed by using the delimiters <%_ and _%> which suppress any whitespace generated by that line:
<ul>
<%_ for(var i=0; i<supplies.length; i++) { _%>
<li><%= supplies[i] %></li>
<%_ } _%>
</ul>
Better control flow syntax
If control flow syntax is enabled by a single character at the beginning of a line then the template looks much nicer:
<ul>
# for(var i=0; i<supplies.length; i++) {
<li><%= supplies[i] %></li>
# }
</ul>
The way to get this syntax is via a work-around – use a regular expression to convert:
# foo
to:
<%_ foo_%>
For example:
template = template.replace(/^[ \t]*#(.*)$/mg, '<%_$1_%>');
This regular expression allows the # to be indented:
<html>
<body>
# for(var i=0; i<supplies.length; i++) {
<li><%= supplies[i] %></li>
# }
</body>
</html>
One more improvement
Additionally, there is an issue for letting people change the delimiter <% to something different. Then the template could look like this:
<ul>
# for(var i=0; i<supplies.length; i++) {
<li>{{= supplies[i] }}</li>
# }
</ul>
I find that easier to read, given that the delimiters are surrounded by HTML with lots of angle brackets.
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