Ramiro Jr. Franco rjfranco

(tl;dr DOM builders like [domo][domo] trump HTML templates on the client.)

Like all web developers, I've used a lot of template engines. Like most, I've also written a few of them, some of which even [fit in a tweet][140].

The first open-source code I ever wrote was also one of the the first template engines for node.js, [a port][node-tmpl] of the mother of all JavaScript template engines, [John Resig][jresig]'s [micro-templates][tmpl]. Of course, these days you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a template engine; one in eight packages on npm ([2,220][npm templates] of 16,226 as of 10/19) involve templates.

John's implementation has since evolved and [lives on in Underscore.js][underscore], which means it's the default choice for templating in Backbone.js. And for a while, it's all I would ever use when building a client-side app.

But I can't really see the value in client-side HTML templates anymore.

Chances are your head's spinning right now. That accusation of bias caught you off guard, you got kind of defensive, and now all hell has broken loose. You're feeling attacked on all sides. You're a good person at heart, and having all these people treat you like the antichrist is pretty upsetting.

You need to say something, but you're probably not in the best headspace to write copy right now. So to help you along, here's my 100% guaranteed-or-you-money-back scandal defusement apology template:

	<html>
	<head>
	<title>Detect Custome Protocol</title>
	<script type="text/javascript" src="http://code.jquery.com/jquery-1.8.1.min.js"></script>
	</head>
	<body>
	<input id="protocol" value="" placeholder="custom protocol"/>
	<button id="launch">Launch</button>
	<!-- Mozilla Only -->
	<iframe id="hiddenIframe" src="about:blank" style="display:none"></iframe>

	# The new git-scm.com site includes man pages designed for pleasant viewing in a web browser:
	#
	# http://git-scm.com/docs
	#
	# The commands below can be used to configure git to open these pages when
	# using `git help -w <command>' from the command line. Just enter the config
	# commands in your shell to modify your ~/.gitconfig file.

	# Create a new browser command and configure help -w to use it.
	git config --global browser.gitscm.cmd "/bin/sh -c 'open http://git-scm.com/docs/\$(basename \$1 .html)' --"

	# NOTE: I just slapped this together as a proof of concept. Thread safety etc. is left to the reader.

	module RTDocumentation

	def self.included(into)
	# method_added doesn't seem to work if mixed in
	into.send(:define_method, :method_added) do \|name\|
	if @_rtdoc_nextdoc
	@_rtdocs \|\|= {}
	@_rtdocs[name.to_s] = @_rtdoc_nextdoc

	# Install rvm system-wide
	bash -s stable < <(curl -s https://raw.github.com/wayneeseguin/rvm/master/binscripts/rvm-installer )

	# Update the packages
	apt-get update
	apt-get upgrade
	apt-get install build-essential

	# get the packages required by ruby
	rvm pkg install zlib

	<form id="contactform" action="{{ contents.messages.api.create }}" method="post">
	<input type="hidden" name="success_callback" value="/contact/success" />
	<input type="hidden" name="error_callback" value="/contact/error" />

	<p><label for="name">Name</label></p>
	<input type="text" id=name name="content[name]" placeholder="First and last name" required tabindex="1" />

	<p><label for="email">Email</label></p>
	<input type="text" id=email name="content[email]" placeholder="[email protected]" required tabindex="2" />