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.

Globals

These are automatically accessible inside templates:

Name	Description
app_name	Application name (from config or fallback)
base_url	Base URL of the application
site_url	Site URL with index.php if not removed

Example:

<title>{{ app_name }}</title>
<a href="{{ site_url }}/dashboard">Dashboard</a>

Filters

Filters are applied using the pipe | operator in templates:

Filter Name	Description
upper	Converts string to uppercase
lower	Converts string to lowercase
title	Converts string to title case
capitalize	Capitalizes first letter
trim	Removes whitespace
reverse	Reverses string or array
escape / e	Escapes HTML characters
raw	Outputs value without escaping
nl2br	Converts newlines to <br>
length	Returns length of string or array
default	Returns default if value is empty
join	Joins array elements
slice	Extracts substring or sub-array
number_format	Formats number
abs	Returns absolute value
round	Rounds a number
date	Formats date
json_encode	Converts value to JSON
replace	Performs key-value replacement
money	Formats number as currency (₱ by default)
slug	Converts string to URL slug
pluralize	Adds “s” if count not 1

Example:

<p>{{ username | upper }}</p>
<p>{{ message | escape }}</p>
<p>{{ 123456.789 | money }}</p>
<p>{{ 5 | pluralize("apple") }}</p>

Functions

Functions can be called in templates:

Function Name	Description
url(path)	Returns a clean URL path
asset(path)	Returns a public asset URL
site_url(path)	Returns a site-relative URL
base_url(path)	Returns base URL + path
active(route)	Returns “active” if current route matches
config(key)	Returns a config value
session(key)	Returns session variable or all if key is null
upper(str)	Converts string to uppercase
repeat(str, n)	Repeats string n times
now()	Returns current date and time
date(format, time)	Returns formatted date
include(template, vars)	Includes another template
dump(value)	Debug helper: prints value with <pre>
csrf_field()	Prints CSRF hidden input field

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

Globals

Filters

Functions

Extending the Registrar

Summary

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