.. _templates_chapter: Templates ========= A :term:`template` is a file on disk which can be used to render dynamic data provided by a :term:`view`. :app:`Pyramid` offers a number of ways to perform templating tasks out of the box, and provides add-on templating support through a set of bindings packages. Before discussing how built-in templates are used in detail, we'll discuss two ways to render templates within :app:`Pyramid` in general: directly, and via renderer configuration. .. index:: single: templates used directly .. _templates_used_directly: Using Templates Directly ------------------------ The most straightforward way to use a template within :app:`Pyramid` is to cause it to be rendered directly within a :term:`view callable`. You may use whatever API is supplied by a given templating engine to do so. :app:`Pyramid` provides various APIs that allow you to render templates directly from within a view callable. For example, if there is a :term:`Chameleon` ZPT template named ``foo.pt`` in a directory named ``templates`` in your application, you can render the template from within the body of a view callable like so: .. code-block:: python :linenos: from pyramid.renderers import render_to_response def sample_view(request): return render_to_response('templates/foo.pt', {'foo':1, 'bar':2}, request=request) The ``sample_view`` :term:`view callable` function above returns a :term:`response` object which contains the body of the ``templates/foo.pt`` template. In this case, the ``templates`` directory should live in the same directory as the module containing the ``sample_view`` function. The template author will have the names ``foo`` and ``bar`` available as top-level names for replacement or comparison purposes. In the example above, the path ``templates/foo.pt`` is relative to the directory containing the file which defines the view configuration. In this case, this is the directory containing the file that defines the ``sample_view`` function. Although a renderer path is usually just a simple relative pathname, a path named as a renderer can be absolute, starting with a slash on UNIX or a drive letter prefix on Windows. .. warning:: Only :term:`Chameleon` templates support defining a renderer for a template relative to the location of the module where the view callable is defined. Mako templates, and other templating system bindings work differently. In particular, Mako templates use a "lookup path" as defined by the ``mako.directories`` configuration file instead of treating relative paths as relative to the current view module. See :ref:`mako_templates`. The path can alternately be a :term:`asset specification` in the form ``some.dotted.package_name:relative/path``. This makes it possible to address template assets which live in another package. For example: .. code-block:: python :linenos: from pyramid.renderers import render_to_response def sample_view(request): return render_to_response('mypackage:templates/foo.pt', {'foo':1, 'bar':2}, request=request) An asset specification points at a file within a Python *package*. In this case, it points at a file named ``foo.pt`` within the ``templates`` directory of the ``mypackage`` package. Using a asset specification instead of a relative template name is usually a good idea, because calls to ``render_to_response`` using asset specifications will continue to work properly if you move the code containing them around. .. note:: Mako templating system bindings also respect absolute asset specifications as an argument to any of the ``render*`` commands. If a template name defines a ``:`` (colon) character and is not an absolute path, it is treated as an absolute asset specification. In the examples above we pass in a keyword argument named ``request`` representing the current :app:`Pyramid` request. Passing a request keyword argument will cause the ``render_to_response`` function to supply the renderer with more correct system values (see :ref:`renderer_system_values`), because most of the information required to compose proper system values is present in the request. If your template relies on the name ``request`` or ``context``, or if you've configured special :term:`renderer globals`, make sure to pass ``request`` as a keyword argument in every call to a ``pyramid.renderers.render_*`` function. Every view must return a :term:`response` object, except for views which use a :term:`renderer` named via view configuration (which we'll see shortly). The :func:`pyramid.renderers.render_to_response` function is a shortcut function that actually returns a response object. This allows the example view above to simply return the result of its call to ``render_to_response()`` directly. Obviously not all APIs you might call to get response data will return a response object. For example, you might render one or more templates to a string that you want to use as response data. The :func:`pyramid.renderers.render` API renders a template to a string. We can manufacture a :term:`response` object directly, and use that string as the body of the response: .. code-block:: python :linenos: from pyramid.renderers import render from pyramid.response import Response def sample_view(request): result = render('mypackage:templates/foo.pt', {'foo':1, 'bar':2}, request=request) response = Response(result) return response Because :term:`view callable` functions are typically the only code in :app:`Pyramid` that need to know anything about templates, and because view functions are very simple Python, you can use whatever templating system you're most comfortable with within :app:`Pyramid`. Install the templating system, import its API functions into your views module, use those APIs to generate a string, then return that string as the body of a :app:`Pyramid` :term:`Response` object. For example, here's an example of using "raw" `Mako `_ from within a :app:`Pyramid` :term:`view`: .. code-block:: python :linenos: from mako.template import Template from pyramid.response import Response def make_view(request): template = Template(filename='/templates/template.mak') result = template.render(name=request.params['name']) response = Response(result) return response You probably wouldn't use this particular snippet in a project, because it's easier to use the Mako renderer bindings which already exist in :app:`Pyramid`. But if your favorite templating system is not supported as a renderer extension for :app:`Pyramid`, you can create your own simple combination as shown above. .. note:: If you use third-party templating languages without cooperating :app:`Pyramid` bindings directly within view callables, the auto-template-reload strategy explained in :ref:`reload_templates_section` will not be available, nor will the template asset overriding capability explained in :ref:`overriding_assets_section` be available, nor will it be possible to use any template using that language as a :term:`renderer`. However, it's reasonably easy to write custom templating system binding packages for use under :app:`Pyramid` so that templates written in the language can be used as renderers. See :ref:`adding_and_overriding_renderers` for instructions on how to create your own template renderer and :ref:`available_template_system_bindings` for example packages. If you need more control over the status code and content-type, or other response attributes from views that use direct templating, you may set attributes on the response that influence these values. Here's an example of changing the content-type and status of the response object returned by :func:`~pyramid.renderers.render_to_response`: .. code-block:: python :linenos: from pyramid.renderers import render_to_response def sample_view(request): response = render_to_response('templates/foo.pt', {'foo':1, 'bar':2}, request=request) response.content_type = 'text/plain' response.status_int = 204 return response Here's an example of manufacturing a response object using the result of :func:`~pyramid.renderers.render` (a string): .. code-block:: python :linenos: from pyramid.renderers import render from pyramid.response import Response def sample_view(request): result = render('mypackage:templates/foo.pt', {'foo':1, 'bar':2}, request=request) response = Response(result) response.content_type = 'text/plain' return response .. index:: single: templates used as renderers single: template renderers single: renderer (template) .. index:: pair: renderer; system values .. _renderer_system_values: System Values Used During Rendering ----------------------------------- When a template is rendered using :func:`~pyramid.renderers.render_to_response` or :func:`~pyramid.renderers.render`, or a ``renderer=`` argument to view configuration (see :ref:`templates_used_as_renderers`), the renderer representing the template will be provided with a number of *system* values. These values are provided to the template: ``request`` The value provided as the ``request`` keyword argument to ``render_to_response`` or ``render`` *or* the request object passed to the view when the ``renderer=`` argument to view configuration is being used to render the template. ``req`` An alias for ``request``. ``context`` The current :app:`Pyramid` :term:`context` if ``request`` was provided as a keyword argument to ``render_to_response`` or ``render``, or ``None`` if the ``request`` keyword argument was not provided. This value will always be provided if the template is rendered as the result of a ``renderer=`` argument to view configuration being used. ``renderer_name`` The renderer name used to perform the rendering, e.g. ``mypackage:templates/foo.pt``. ``renderer_info`` An object implementing the :class:`pyramid.interfaces.IRendererInfo` interface. Basically, an object with the following attributes: ``name``, ``package`` and ``type``. ``view`` The view callable object that was used to render this template. If the view callable is a method of a class-based view, this will be an instance of the class that the method was defined on. If the view callable is a function or instance, it will be that function or instance. Note that this value will only be automatically present when a template is rendered as a result of a ``renderer=`` argument; it will be ``None`` when the ``render_to_response`` or ``render`` APIs are used. You can define more values which will be passed to every template executed as a result of rendering by defining :term:`renderer globals`. What any particular renderer does with these system values is up to the renderer itself, but most template renderers, including Chameleon and Mako renderers, make these names available as top-level template variables. .. index:: pair: renderer; templates .. _templates_used_as_renderers: Templates Used as Renderers via Configuration --------------------------------------------- An alternative to using :func:`~pyramid.renderers.render_to_response` to render templates manually in your view callable code, is to specify the template as a :term:`renderer` in your *view configuration*. This can be done with any of the templating languages supported by :app:`Pyramid`. To use a renderer via view configuration, specify a template :term:`asset specification` as the ``renderer`` argument, or attribute to the :term:`view configuration` of a :term:`view callable`. Then return a *dictionary* from that view callable. The dictionary items returned by the view callable will be made available to the renderer template as top-level names. The association of a template as a renderer for a :term:`view configuration` makes it possible to replace code within a :term:`view callable` that handles the rendering of a template. Here's an example of using a :class:`~pyramid.view.view_config` decorator to specify a :term:`view configuration` that names a template renderer: .. code-block:: python :linenos: from pyramid.view import view_config @view_config(renderer='templates/foo.pt') def my_view(request): return {'foo':1, 'bar':2} .. note:: You do not need to supply the ``request`` value as a key in the dictionary result returned from a renderer-configured view callable. :app:`Pyramid` automatically supplies this value for you so that the "most correct" system values are provided to the renderer. .. warning:: The ``renderer`` argument to the ``@view_config`` configuration decorator shown above is the template *path*. In the example above, the path ``templates/foo.pt`` is *relative*. Relative to what, you ask? Because we're using a Chameleon renderer, it means "relative to the directory in which the file which defines the view configuration lives". In this case, this is the directory containing the file that defines the ``my_view`` function. View-configuration-relative asset specifications work only in Chameleon, not in Mako templates. Similar renderer configuration can be done imperatively. See :ref:`views_which_use_a_renderer`. See also :ref:`built_in_renderers`. Although a renderer path is usually just a simple relative pathname, a path named as a renderer can be absolute, starting with a slash on UNIX or a drive letter prefix on Windows. The path can alternately be an :term:`asset specification` in the form ``some.dotted.package_name:relative/path``, making it possible to address template assets which live in another package. Not just any template from any arbitrary templating system may be used as a renderer. Bindings must exist specifically for :app:`Pyramid` to use a templating language template as a renderer. Currently, :app:`Pyramid` has built-in support for two Chameleon templating languages: ZPT and text, and the Mako templating system. See :ref:`built_in_renderers` for a discussion of their details. :app:`Pyramid` also supports the use of :term:`Jinja2` templates as renderers. See :ref:`available_template_system_bindings`. .. sidebar:: Why Use A Renderer via View Configuration Using a renderer in view configuration is usually a better way to render templates than using any rendering API directly from within a :term:`view callable` because it makes the view callable more unit-testable. Views which use templating or rendering APIs directly must return a :term:`Response` object. Making testing assertions about response objects is typically an indirect process, because it means that your test code often needs to somehow parse information out of the response body (often HTML). View callables configured with renderers externally via view configuration typically return a dictionary, as above. Making assertions about results returned in a dictionary is almost always more direct and straightforward than needing to parse HTML. By default, views rendered via a template renderer return a :term:`Response` object which has a *status code* of ``200 OK``, and a *content-type* of ``text/html``. To vary attributes of the response of a view that uses a renderer, such as the content-type, headers, or status attributes, you must use the API of the :class:`pyramid.response.Response` object exposed as ``request.response`` within the view before returning the dictionary. See :ref:`request_response_attr` for more information. The same set of system values are provided to templates rendered via a renderer view configuration as those provided to templates rendered imperatively. See :ref:`renderer_system_values`. .. index:: pair: debugging; templates .. _debugging_templates: Debugging Templates ------------------- A :exc:`NameError` exception resulting from rendering a template with an undefined variable (e.g. ``${wrong}``) might end up looking like this: .. code-block:: text RuntimeError: Caught exception rendering template. - Expression: ``wrong`` - Filename: /home/fred/env/proj/proj/templates/mytemplate.pt - Arguments: renderer_name: proj:templates/mytemplate.pt template: xincludes: request: project: proj macros: context: view: NameError: wrong The output tells you which template the error occurred in, as well as displaying the arguments passed to the template itself. .. index:: single: automatic reloading of templates single: template automatic reload .. _reload_templates_section: Automatically Reloading Templates --------------------------------- It's often convenient to see changes you make to a template file appear immediately without needing to restart the application process. :app:`Pyramid` allows you to configure your application development environment so that a change to a template will be automatically detected, and the template will be reloaded on the next rendering. .. warning:: Auto-template-reload behavior is not recommended for production sites as it slows rendering slightly; it's usually only desirable during development. In order to turn on automatic reloading of templates, you can use an environment variable, or a configuration file setting. To use an environment variable, start your application under a shell using the ``PYRAMID_RELOAD_TEMPLATES`` operating system environment variable set to ``1``, For example: .. code-block:: text $ PYRAMID_RELOAD_TEMPLATES=1 $VENV/bin/pserve myproject.ini To use a setting in the application ``.ini`` file for the same purpose, set the ``pyramid.reload_templates`` key to ``true`` within the application's configuration section, e.g.: .. code-block:: ini :linenos: [app:main] use = egg:MyProject pyramid.reload_templates = true .. index:: single: template system bindings single: Jinja2 .. _available_template_system_bindings: Available Add-On Template System Bindings ----------------------------------------- Jinja2 template bindings are available for :app:`Pyramid` in the ``pyramid_jinja2`` package. You can get the latest release of this package from the `Python package index `_ (pypi).