Smarty

[Knaverjeck]

Is it possible? Is there a way around it?

I have a foreach loop in which the keys of an array are extracted using array_keys(). In order to optimise this a little, I want to evaluate the array_keys() function outside of the foreach loop and assign it to a template variables. Something like this:

{assign var="idList" assign=array_keys($groups)}
{foreach from=$users item="user"}
{if in_array($user.groupID, $idList)}yes, you're a member{/if}
{/foreach}

But all that gets assigned to $idList is "array_keys(Array.groups)"

Can anyone suggest what I'm doing wring here, or whether smarty supports this at all (if not, how can I get around it)?

thanks

[mohrt]

One way around it, do your array manipulation in PHP, then assign it to smarty in a structure that is easy to loop over and display. Always try to have your data prepared for smarty so once you're in the template, minimal effort is required to display it.

[boots]

[Knaverjeck]

Thanks for your replies guys. Perhaps I have moved too much into the template itself, but I feel reluctant to create 'filler' variables (such as one to hold the keys of the $group array I mentioned first of all). In my mind this is altering the PHP code to fit around the template, rather than the template just displaying whatever I pass to it in a way that it wants to. i.e. "I need to create this keys array because the template requires it" - that immediately crushes the code/content separation idea.

I'm not talking about moving specific conditional statements that require the template to know exactly what data it's being passed (e.g. {if $userID>=1 && $username=='bob'}), but instead simply restructuring the data that it's got into a more convenient form for display purposes. I don't think this is expecting too much from Smarty - why are these data manipulations "difficult and hard to maintain"?

[boots]

This is how to fix your code example, by-the-way: (untested)

{assign var="idList" assign=$groups|@array_keys}

PHP functions are allowed as modifiers (when security is false) but PHP functions are allowed as functions only in {if} statements. The @ tells Smarty to treat the input in the modifier as an array.

I understand your argument, but I don't particularly agree One thing to consider is that you are doing validation in your template -- I don't see that as being overly related to output, but instead a function of your application. It is true that there are fine lines and grey areas, but in this case, perhaps you may want to consider another layer in your application to get the separation you look for. ....or not, suit yourself!

Cheers,

[Knaverjeck]

thanks boots, i'll give that a try, and try to colour in some of those grey areas whilst I'm at it