Smarty

[filipe]

Hi,

I want to make life even easier for my designers. Is there an easy way to write a function that acts as a loop? For example, if I had a Smarty function named customer_list that returned an associative array of customer information, I would like my designers to be able to:

[boots]

Yes. Block functions support a "repeat" parameter which permit a looping functionality.

See: http://smarty.php.net/manual/en/plugins.block.functions.php

Of course, if you are having trouble with an implementation, feel free to ask!

(BTW: I have a complicated example of this here http://www.phpinsider.com/smarty-forum/viewtopic.php?t=4125 but it may not be the best of starting points...)

[filipe]

I looked into that, but I wasn't sure if block functions would, by default, parse the data INSIDE the block properly. E.g., in the example I mentioned above:

[boots]

Your block plugin has to make the assignments on every iteration so that Smarty can do the replacements.

Below is a snippet from an email exchange I had with messju not too long ago in which he presented the little code-template you see. You might be able to adapt it to your needs. Note that it is possible to do all of that work directly within the block function but breaking it into separate functions makes it look a little more generic (it was what I was seeking at the time, anyhow ).

It is untested in its current form, but asides from being a good starting point it should make clear what happens and when. The key is that your block function is getting callbacks from Smarty before and after it processes a block. It is up to your block function to: set whatever variables are needed, manipulate the processed content (if required--probably not in your case) and set the conditions for terminating the block.

[php:1:a034a72e03]
function smarty_block_boots($params, $content, &$smarty, &$repeat)
{
if (isset($content)) {
$content = smarty_block_close__boots($params, $content, &$smarty, $repeat);
} else {
smarty_block_init__boots($params, $content, $smarty, $repeat);
}
if ($repeat) {
smarty_block_open__boots($params, $content, $smarty, $repeat);
}
return $content;
}

/* called once, may set $repeat */
function smarty_block_init__boots($params, $content, &$smarty, &$repeat)
{
}

/* called on each opening of a block, may set $repeat */
function smarty_block_open__boots($params, $content, &$smarty, &$repeat)
{
}

/* called on each closing of a block, may set $repeat, returns (optionally modified) block-contents */
function smarty_block_close__boots($params, $content, &$smarty, &$repeat)
{
return $content;
}
?>[/php:1:a034a72e03]

You can use _init, for example, to setup any internal structures that you require. You will have to store your data in a static or a private member var of $smarty, a global or even directly on the tag stack. Its up to you.

You can use _open to setup any conditions that Smarty will need to process the block. For example, you can $smarty->assign(..) your vars here on each iteration.

HTH