Scripting Template and Design Language

desmondw · May 3, 2009

I'm not that familiar with any code structure past HTML and CSS and was wondering what kind of scripting and with what language I should use to have a standard template on my site (such as the same look on every page without rewriting code). CSS is looking pretty good for changing looks globally with one file to edit - but I'm concerned with the content that is static across all pages (background, main links, add placement, etc...). For a reference you can see my site at theexistential.com (still in progress obviously) and just view source - the only thing I have besides the base html currently is CSS.

Also, I'm trying to get a feel for what kind of scripting languages to use for my site (and what I need). It's hard to do this by using view source on web pages. The site will be a blog - so ideas as far as showing blog posts on a single page via references (instead of manually editting the content everytime I add a post) would be a good start.

Thanks

akkudreamz · May 3, 2009

have you heard of smarty
google it and you'll find some tutorials its actually a template engine for php
most standard sites are built using smarty these days
as it separates the code from the presentation

freecrm · May 3, 2009

I don't use a CMS, as I find them annoying!!

The scripts I use are in php and very useful for maintaining a corporate feel throughout the entire site.

As you know, you can use single .css files to control the look across the site.

In addition, you can also use the <?php include(); ?> function, which is great because you can put your header/ footer or any other part of a page into seperate files and insert them when you want to.

This not only cuts down replication, but makes life very simple when you want to change a look across the site.

I wonder if you can change a .css file by using php variables?? Hmm... must look into that!

The standard way to alter styling depending on a set of circumstances would be to include a different .css file link with a <?php if()....else ?> statement.

This way, you could load personal preferences for instance, which would load a specific .css file, depnding on the value the if..else statement gets.

Does this help at all??

desmondw · May 11, 2009

freecrm said:
In addition, you can also use the <?php include(); ?> function, which is great because you can put your header/ footer or any other part of a page into separate files and insert them when you want to.

This is exactly what I want to do. Do you (or does anyone else) have example code I could look at for a reference? I usually learn best by referencing fully written code.

leafypiggy · May 11, 2009

I can't really write out a full code now, but I can give an example. Also, you can try w3schools.com/php if you are learning PHP.

This is basicly a simplified WordPress "Loop"

PHP:

<?php
include('header.php');

/*
*
*Static Data
*Like News Posts
**Etc.
*This would be directly after your navigation, which is in header.php
*
*/

include('footer.php');

?>

Header.php (Just filling in what would be there:

PHP:

<html>
<head>
<title>(Dynamic Usually)</title>
<!--Meta & Javascript Here-->
</head>
<body>
<!--Whatever your header is...-->
<!--Navigation-->

<!--Rest of the page is called from index.php-->

Note: Header.php can contain PHP, I just used HTML.

The index.php file would contain JUST the page. All the content, sidebars, etc. Sidebars can be included from seperate files by using divisions and include()s.

Footer.php

PHP:

<div id=footer>
Here's your footer
</div>

<!--Whatever you need to end the page...-->
</body>
</html>

Is that good?

freecrm · May 12, 2009

I think thats spot on Neil!

Desmond, we can't really do full script because we don't know what files you're referencing and what you want contained in them!

Scripting Template and Design Language

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