Re^4: HTML - sharing design and logic

[BUU]

Perhaps our standards of beauty differ, but:

<select>
    <tmpl_loop name='options'>
        <option value='<tmpl_var val>' <tmpl_if selected > selected </
+tmpl_if> </option>
    </tmpl_loop>
</select>

Is that really so ugly?

[hardburn]

I was thinking of the situation where the HTML designer wanted to include the list statically:

<select>
   <option value="1" <TMPL_IF option1>selected</TMPL_IF>>1</option>
   <option value="2" <TMPL_IF option2>selected</TMPL_IF>>2</option>
   <option value="3" <TMPL_IF option3>selected</TMPL_IF>>3</option>
   . . . 
</select>

Belch!

[jeffa]

In this case, i don't think you should allow the designers to do that. Why? Have to answer that one with another question: Why do they need to do that? I'll wager they have no valid, good reason for it.

Many moons ago, samtregar gave me a good piece of advice. There he pointed me to H::T FAQ #11, and since Sam said it much better than i can, i will reprint his text here:

Q: What's the best way to create a <select> form element using HTML::Template?

A: There is much disagreement on this issue. My personal preference is to use CGI.pm's excellent popup_menu() and scrolling_list() functions to fill in a single <tmpl_var select_foo> variable.

To some people this smacks of mixing HTML and code in a way that they hoped HTML::Template would help them avoid. To them I'd say that HTML is a violation of the principle of separating design from programming. There's no clear separation between the programmatic elements of the <form> tags and the layout of the <form> tags. You'll have to draw the line somewhere - clearly the designer can't be entirely in charge of form creation.

It's a balancing act and you have to weigh the pros and cons on each side. It is certainly possible to produce a <select> element entirely inside the template. What you end up with is a rat's nest of loops and conditionals. Alternately you can give up a certain amount of flexibility in return for vastly simplifying your templates. I generally choose the latter.

Another option is to investigate HTML::FillInForm which some have reported success using to solve this problem.

For me, this means that you (the HTML designer) give me the list you want and i will make the select for you.