Getting started

Installation

Add code-assembly-line to your project:

 npm install code-assembly-line

Create new instance of the engine:

 import CodeAssemblyLine from 'code-assembly-line'
 // start instance of template engine
 const tplEngine = new CodeAssemblyLine ();

Code-Assembly-Line is ready to use.

Templates

Templates for Code-Assembly-Line are simple javascript object where key is a template-name and value is the template. Example:

 // create a template library
 const templateLibrary = {
   'hello' : 'Hello {{user}}'
,  'bye'   : 'Bye {{user}}'
}

 tplEngine.insertTemplate ( templateLibrary )   // provide more than one template at once.

Templates are ready to use.

Processes

Process is a list of predefined data-manipulation and rendering steps. It's represented by array of step-objects. Every process-step has parameter do and couple of other params that will help you better to describe the process. Let's look at very simple example with two steps:

  const hello = [ 
                     { do: 'set' as: 'user' }
                   , { do: 'draw', tpl:'hello' } 
                 ]
 
  tplEngine.insertProcess ( hello, 'hello' )   // register process to template engine

String data will be converted to object with parameter 'user' and then the object will be rendered with template 'hello'.

Let's see some examples:

   const name = 'Peter';
   const simple = tplEngine.run ( 'hello', name )
   //  => 'Hello Peter'

  const friends = [ 'Ivo', 'Georgy', 'Stefan' ];
  const greetFriends = tplEngine.run ( 'hello', friends )
  // => [ 'Hello Ivo', 'Hello Georgy', 'Hello Stefan' ]

Process will be started for each member of the array. Result will be array of 3 greeting results. Define separate process for merging results:

 const doMerge =  [ { do:'block', space: ', ' ]   // will combine results in a single string
 tplEngine.insertProcess ( doMerge, 'merge' ) 
 const single = tplEngine.run ( ['hello','merge'], friends )   
/*
   Will execute process 'hello' and then will execute 'merge'. Result of 'hello' process will be 
   treated as input-data on running 'merge' process.
*/

Try this code by yourself. Sandbox with library loaded is available for you on this fiddle.

Blocks

Blocks is standard place where process result can be saved. Just add process-step 'block' with name and your render is saved for later use.

const CodeAssemblyLine = require ("code-assembly-line");
const tplEngine = new CodeAssemblyLine ();

 tplEngine
   .insertTemplate ( { hello : 'Hello {{user}}!' } )
   .insertProcess  ( [
                          { do : 'set', as: 'user' }
                        , { do: 'draw', tpl: 'hello' }
                        , { do: 'block', name: 'greetings', space: '\n'}
                    ], 'greetings' )
    .run ( 'greetings', [ 'Peter', 'Ivan', 'Stefan', 'Ivo' ])

// ...latter in the code 
const result = tplEngine.getBlock ( 'greetings' )
/*  =>
Hello Peter!
Hello Ivan!
Hello Stefan!
Hello Ivo!
*/

Saved blocks are available to other templates. Use 'greetings' block from any other template by using placeholder 'block/greetings'. Try this code-sample

Data

Data provides alternative content for placeholders if information is missing on running the process. Data for Code-Assembly-Line is a javascript object where key is a data-name and value is the data itself. Similar to templates. Example:

 data = {
            'name' : 'no-name'
          , 'address' : 'Address is not available'
        }

 tplEngine.insertData ( data )

Try this code-sample

Note: Blocks are subset of data and can be used on exactly same way.