Ember Template Engine

Overview

The Ember class is a lightweight templating engine for the LavaLust PHP Framework. It allows developers to use a simplified syntax for templates, supporting sections, includes, template inheritance, custom filters, and functions.

Ember combines simplicity and flexibility, compiling templates into PHP for fast execution.

Features

Template inheritance using @extends and @yield
Section management using @section and @endsection
Template inclusion via @include
Custom filters and functions
Escaped and raw output syntax
Auto-escaping support for XSS prevention
Built-in control structures: @if, @foreach, @while, etc.

Class Summary

Property / Method	Description
`templates_path`	Directory path to template files.
`cache_path`	Directory path to compiled (cached) templates.
`globals`	Global variables accessible in all templates.
`functions`	Custom functions callable within templates.
`filters`	Registered filters for variable transformation.
`auto_escape`	Boolean that controls whether HTML escaping is automatically applied.

Configuration Example (`app/config/ember.php`)

$config['ember_helper_enabled'] = TRUE;
$config['cache_path'] = ROOT_DIR . 'runtime/cache/';
$config['templates_path'] = APP_DIR . 'views/';
$config['auto_escape']    = TRUE;

Public Methods

escape()

Syntax:

$this->ember->escape($value);

Description: Escapes a value using htmlspecialchars() if auto_escape is enabled.

Example:

echo $this->ember->escape('<b>Hello</b>');
// Output: &lt;b&gt;Hello&lt;/b&gt;

add_global()

Syntax:

$this->ember->add_global($name, $value);

Description: Registers a global variable available to all templates.

Example:

$this->ember->add_global('appName', 'MyLavaApp');

Usage in Template:

<p>Welcome to {{ appName }}</p>

add_function()

Syntax:

$this->ember->add_function($name, $callable);

Description: Registers a callable function accessible from within templates.

Example:

$this->ember->add_function('site_url', fn($path = '') => site_url($path));

Usage in Template:

<a href="{{ site_url('dashboard') }}">Dashboard</a>

add_filter()

Syntax:

$this->ember->add_filter($name, $callable);

Description: Registers a custom filter for transforming variable output.

Example:

$this->ember->add_filter('upper', fn($v) => strtoupper($v));
$this->ember->add_filter('lower', fn($v) => strtolower($v));

Usage in Template:

<p>{{ username|upper }}</p>

apply_filter()

Syntax:

$this->ember->apply_filter($name, $value);

Description: Applies a registered filter to a given value.

Example:

echo $this->ember->apply_filter('upper', 'ronald');
// Output: RONALD

render()

Syntax:

$this->ember->render($template, $context = []);

Description: Renders a template with the provided context data.

Parameters:

Name	Type	Description
`$template`	string	Template file name (without extension)
`$context`	array	Variables passed to the template

Example:

echo $this->ember->render('pages.profile', ['name' => 'Ron']);

Template (``views/pages/profile.ember.php``):

<h1>Hello, {{ name|upper }}</h1>

Output:

Hello, RON

Template Directives

Directive	Purpose	Example
`@extends('layout')`	Extends a base layout template	`@extends('layouts.main')`
`@section('name')` / `@endsection`	Defines a content section	`@section('title') Home @endsection`
`@yield('name')`	Displays section content	`@yield('content')`
`@include('file')`	Includes another template	`@include('partials.header')`
`@if / @elseif / @else / @endif`	Conditional logic	`@if($user) Welcome @endif`
`@foreach / @endforeach`	Loop structure	`@foreach($users as $user) {{ user.name }} @endforeach`
`@php / @endphp`	Raw PHP code	`@php echo date('Y'); @endphp`
`{{ var }}`	Escaped variable output	`{{ username }}`
`{!! var !!}`	Raw (unescaped) output	`{!! html_content !!}`
`{{ var\|filter }}`	Applies a registered filter	`{{ name\|upper }}`

Example Template Structure

File: views/layouts/main.ember.php

<html>
<head>
    <title>@yield('title')</title>
</head>
<body>
    @include('partials.header')
    <main>
        @yield('content')
    </main>
</body>
</html>

File: views/partials/header.ember.php

<header><h1>My Application</h1></header>

File: views/pages/home.ember.php

@extends('layouts.main')

@section('title')
    Welcome Page
@endsection

@section('content')
    <h1>Hello, {{ name|upper }}</h1>
@endsection

Output:

Hello, RON

Ember Registrar

class Ember_registrar.Ember_registrar

The Ember_registrar class provides a collection of default filters, globals, and functions that extend the Ember template engine in the LavaLust Framework.

It acts as a registration hub where you can define custom filters, functions, and global variables that become available to all templates rendered through the Ember engine.

This class is automatically called inside the Ember class upon initialization.

Name	Description
app_name	Application name from config (default: “LavaLust App”)
base_url	Base URL of the application
site_url	Site URL with index.php (if applicable)
csp_nonce	Content Security Policy nonce for inline scripts/styles

Filter	Description
upper	Converts string to uppercase
lower	Converts string to lowercase
title	Converts string to Title Case
capitalize	Capitalizes first letter
trim	Removes whitespace from both ends
reverse	Reverses string or array

Filter	Description
escape / e	Escapes output (recommended for safety)
raw	Outputs raw HTML (dangerous, use carefully)
nl2br	Converts newlines to <br>
striptags	Removes HTML tags

Filter	Description
length	Counts items in array or characters in string
default(value)	Returns default if value is empty
join(separator)	Joins array into string
slice(start, length)	Extracts part of array or string

Filter	Description
number_format(decimals)	Formats number with decimals
abs	Absolute value
round(precision)	Rounds number

Filter	Description
date(format)	Formats date/time value

Filter	Description
json(pretty)	Converts value to JSON string
replace(search, replace)	Replaces text inside string

Filter	Description
money(symbol)	Formats number as currency (default ₱)
slug	Converts string to URL-friendly slug
pluralize(word)	Adds “s” if count is not 1

Function Name	Description
url(path)	Returns a clean relative URL (prepends “/”)
asset(path)	Returns URL from `public/` directory
site_url(path)	Returns routed URL
base_url(path)	Returns base URL + path
active(route)	Returns “active” if route matches current URL

Function Name	Description
config(key)	Returns config value
session(key)	Returns session value; returns all if key is null

Function Name	Description
upper(str)	Converts string to uppercase
repeat(str, n)	Repeats string n times

Function Name	Description
now()	Returns current datetime (Y-m-d H:i:s)
date(format, timestamp)	Formats timestamp

Function Name	Description
include(template, vars)	Renders another template with variables
dump(value, die=false)	Prints formatted debug output; optionally stops execution

Function Name	Description
csrf_field()	Outputs hidden CSRF input field
old(key, default)	Returns previously submitted form value

Function Name	Description
nonce()	Returns CSP nonce for inline scripts/styles

Function Name	Description
asset_version(path)	Returns asset URL with cache-busting version (?v=timestamp)

Example:

<img src="{{ asset('images/logo.png') }}" alt="Logo">
<form method="post">
    {{ csrf_field() }}
</form>
<p>{{ now() }}</p>

Extending the Registrar

You can extend Ember_registrar to register additional filters, functions, or globals:

<?php
class EmberConfigs extends Ember_registrar {

    public function register($engine)
    {
        // Add a new global
        $engine->add_global('myName', 'Ron');

        // Add a new filter
        $engine->add_filter('greet', fn($name) => 'Hello, ' . ucfirst($name) . '!');

        // Add a new function
        $engine->add_function('sum', fn($a, $b) => $a + $b);
    }
}

Example in template:

<p>{{ myName | greet }}</p>
<p>2 + 3 = {{ sum(2, 3) }}</p>

Note

Default filters and functions are automatically registered. Custom registrars can override or extend existing definitions. Place extended registrar under app/libraries/EmberConfigs.php and load via:

$this->call->library('EmberConfigs');
$this->EmberConfigs->register($this->ember);

Summary

Templates are automatically cached to the configured cache_path. Filters and functions must be registered before rendering. Use {!! !!} only for trusted HTML output. Auto-escaping is controlled globally via the auto_escape configuration option.

Ember Template Engine

Overview

Features

Class Summary

Configuration Example (app/config/ember.php)

Public Methods

escape()

add_global()

add_function()

add_filter()

apply_filter()

render()

Template Directives

Example Template Structure

Ember Registrar

Extending the Registrar

Summary

Configuration Example (`app/config/ember.php`)