Template inheritance and sections without Blade syntax - php

Question

How to structure view hierarchy without using blade? What are the pure php counterparts of blade directives (i,e #section, #extend , etc)?
Perhaps, something similar to <?php extend('foo') ?>
In Phalcon framework, while it has its own template engine (Volt) all of its template engine is also available in pure PHP syntax.

Answer 1

Since Blade directives just compile to normal PHP, it is technically possible to use the view structuring features without actually using Blade. I don't think it's very pretty though, and I personally would think twice about this decision.
You can find all the PHP code, Blade is compiled to, in this class:
Illuminate\View\Compilers\BladeCompiler
Here are some of them:
#section('content')
<?php $__env->startSection('content'); ?>
#endsection
<?php $__env->stopSection(); ?>
#extends('layout')
This is a bit a tricky one. Usually Blade compiles it and then adds it to a footer variable which is printed at the bottom. So instead of putting it at the top (like you would with #extends) you have to place this at the end of your view:
<?php echo $__env->make('layout', array_except(get_defined_vars(), array('__data', '__path')))->render(); ?>
#yield('content')
<?php echo $__env->yieldContent('content'); ?>

Answer 2

To put this in a pure PHP way you'll have to check out the storage/framework/cache/views and see what's happening there. Basically, is what Blade compiles to PHP code (instead of using # and with proper function calls).
One way I can think is:
In your template where you use yield:
<!-- template.php -->
<div class="container">
<!-- instead of using yield('container') -->
<?php echo "_yield:container"; ?>
</div>
In your file, instead of using section and stop
<!-- view.php -->
<!-- instead of using extend('template') -->
<?php $templatePath = 'template.php'; ?>
<?php $sections = []; ?>
<!-- instead of using section('container') -->
<?php $currentSectionName = 'container'; ob_start(); ?>
<p>This will be in my container div</p>
<!-- instead of using stop -->
<?php
// get the current html
$sections["_yield:".$currentSectionName] = ob_get_contents();
ob_end_clean();
ob_start();
require($templateName);
$template = ob_get_contents();
ob_end_clean();
echo str_replace($template,array_keys($sections),array_values($sections));
?>
Of course, this approach is simplistic at best. The code provided is not intended as a copy & paste solution, more like the concept.
Everything else is simple:
#foreach($arr as $k=>$v)
...
#endforeach
translates to
<?php foreach($arr as $k=>$v) : ?>
...
<?php endforeach; ?>
That's how it's exactly done by the BladeCompiler. The same is with if and while.

Answer 3

The pure PHP equivalent to Blade is to split your code in sections like header and footer (for example) and then use require in your page to blend those sections in the corresponding place.
<?php
require("template/header.php");
// Here goes the body code
require("template/footer.php");
?>
There is no pure PHP functions that i can think of, to extend a page from a main template, a you do using the yield directive.

Answer 4

Blade compiles into PHP every time and what it compiles is stored in to storage/framework/views/*
The following link is a list of all things blade can compile to, you should be able to extract some knowledge out of this:
https://github.com/illuminate/view/blob/master/Compilers/BladeCompiler.php
The general idea for most templating engine is that they structure your code like so:
if ($condition):
// do stuff
endif;
while ($condition):
// do stuff
endwhile;
foreach ($array as $key => $value):
// do stuff
endforeach;
For further reference, see https://secure.php.net/manual/en/control-structures.alternative-syntax.php

Answer 5

Neither of blade directives is a 'pure' PHP function. PHP functions cannot start with # and all blade directives do. In short, blade directives are shortcuts or synonyms to PHP built-in functions or control structures.
You are free to use any other template engine – it doesn't have to be Blade. Blade is built-in, but you are not locked to it. Just install a vendor package or make your own one, and return your HTML output with response, instead of using View facade.