API reference

Elements

There are four fundamentally different types of data that Tuxedo framework can work with: (in the order of abstraction)

  • Data types are the lowest level of abstraction, they represent the most basic type of data units.
  • Variables are named representation of the data type instances (values). They are also stored by the framework
  • Functions are any kind of patterns that work on those data types and variables. These include operators, regular parameterised functions, and any custom patterns that contain data types or variables.
  • Tags are global patterns that work with data types, variables, and functions as well. These are usually higher level statements, like conditions, loops, comments, macros, and blocks.

There is a documentation section dedicated to each of these elements.

Usage

Let's take a look at how to add these elements to the Tuxedo library.

let templateEngine = Tuxedo(dataTypes: StandardLibrary.dataTypes,
                            functions: StandardLibrary.functions,
                            tags: StandardLibrary.tags,
                            globalVariables: ["variableName": variableValue])

or, in short

let templateEngine = Tuxedo(globalVariables: ["variableName": variableValue])
or
let templateEngine = Tuxedo() //if there are no variables set

Once the Tuxedo instance has been created, it uses the registered elements to evaluate the expressions.

let result : String = templateEngine.evaluate("a template with {% tags %}")
or
let result : String = templateEngine.evaluate("a template with {{ variable }}", variables: ["variable": "tags"])

There's also a way to read templates from file:

let result : String = templateEngine.evaluate(template: "index.template", variables: ["name": "Tuxedo"])

Each of these methods read the input, replace the evaluated value of the recognised tags, and returns the output after the replacement.

Further reading

Adding new elements

The frameworks provides a wide variety of combinations, but in case of any special needs, it's really easy to add new elements. The framlibrary provides an intuitive way to add new elements. Take a look at the extending Tuxedo section to learn how to do that.

Inspecting details

It's worth mentioning, that Tuxedo was built on top of the Eval framework, which provides the technical foundation for this project. All Tuxedo does, it that it defines a set of data types, functions, and tags (as its standard library), and leaves the execution to the Eval framework to do the heavy lifting. It's a really generic interpreter, capable of doing all sorts of interpretation. In fact, Tuxedo started as an example app of the Eval project, but turned out to be an awesome library on its own.

Long story short, if you're interested in the implementation details, there's a document named "How does it work" with all the details, I encourage everyone to check it out.

Data types →