Simple templating with str_replace - php

Question

I'm just experimenting first of all.
I just came up with an idea of making my own in a simple way here:
class Template
{
function parse($template_file, $braces)
{
if(file_exists($template_file))
{
$template = file_get_contents($template_file);
foreach($braces as $brace => $replacement)
{
$brace = trim(strtoupper($brace));
$build = str_replace('{' . $brace . '}', $replacement, $template);
}
echo $build;
}
else
{
trigger_error('Template file does not exist: ' . $template_file, E_ERROR);
}
}
}
This in order to work:
$template = new Template();
$template->parse('index_body.html', array('ONE' => 'one',
'TWO' => 'two',
'THREE' => 'three'));
index_body.html:
{ONE}
{TWO}
{THREE}
The problem is, that it only outputs:
{ONE} {TWO} three
It always replaces the last brace, how come not the whole array?

Answer 1

$build = str_replace('{' . $brace . '}', $replacement, $template);
^^^^^^^^^
You're always replacing against the original template, never against the updated one. Either keep assigning $template, or update $build

Answer 2

$template = file_get_contents($template_file);
$build = $template;
foreach($braces as $brace => $replacement)
{
$brace = trim(strtoupper($brace));
$build = str_replace('{' . $brace . '}', $replacement, $build);
}

Answer 3

It only replaces the last place because in each case, you're replacing the value in the original $template variable. It's not updating the variable each iteration.

Answer 4

You echo $build, which is being reassigned every foreach iteration.
You should've written this instead
$template = str_replace('{' . $brace . '}', $replacement, $template);

Answer 5

How about using like full php engine power (similar to smarty interface):
just for experimenting:
class Template {
private $_file;
private $_variables = array();
public function __construct($file = null) {
$this->_file = $file;
}
public function set($key, $value) {
$this->_variables[$key] = $value;
}
public function fetch($file = null) {
if (!$file) {
$file = $this->_file;
}
extract($this->_variables);
ob_start();
require($file);
$content = ob_get_contents();
ob_end_clean();
return $content;
}
public function display($file = null) {
if (!$file) {
$file = $this->_file;
}
$result = $this->fetch($file);
echo $result;
}
}
=============
$tpl = new Template('hello.tpl');
$tpl->set('world', 'earth');
$tpl->display();
=============
Template sample:hello.tpl
Hello <?=$world;?>

Answer 6

Your $build is overwritten in each iteration. This will solve the issue.
class Template
{
function parse($template_file, $braces)
{
if(file_exists($template_file))
{
$template = file_get_contents($template_file);
foreach($braces as $brace => $replacement)
{
$brace = trim(strtoupper($brace));
$temp = str_replace('{' . $brace . '}', $replacement, $template);//create a temporary array
$build = array_merge($build ,$temp);
}
echo $build;
}
else
{
trigger_error('Template file does not exist: ' . $template_file, E_ERROR);
}
}
}