---
title: "Template Syntax"
output: rmarkdown::html_vignette
vignette: >
%\VignetteIndexEntry{Template Syntax}
%\VignetteEngine{knitr::rmarkdown}
%\VignetteEncoding{UTF-8}
---
```{r, include=FALSE}
knitr::opts_chunk$set(
collapse = TRUE,
comment = "#>"
)
```
This vignette describes the template syntax supported by jinjar, following the structure of the Jinja [Template Designer Documentation](https://jinja.palletsprojects.com/templates/).
It is designed to act as a reference when writing templates.
The jinjar R package is powered by the [inja](https://github.com/pantor/inja) C++ library.
The syntax is very similar to that of the Jinja Python package, but there are also many differences.
Unfortunately, this means jinjar is not a drop-in replacement for Jinja -- you might need to adapt existing Jinja templates for the jinjar engine.
The most fundamental difference between jinjar and Jinja is:
* Jinja variables support direct interaction with the underlying Python objects.
* jinjar variables are simple [JSON data types](https://www.w3schools.com/js/js_json_datatypes.asp). The underlying R objects are translated to JSON.
This is described in more detail in the [Variables](#variables) section below.
Before starting, let's create a few R objects for rendering example templates.
```{r setup}
library(jinjar)
# length-1 vector
title <- "My Webpage"
# vector
users <- c("User A", "User B", "User C")
# list
godzilla <- list(
Name = "Godzilla",
Born = 1952,
Birthplace = "Japan"
)
# data frame
navigation <- data.frame(
caption = c("Home", "Blog"),
href = c("index.html", "blog.html")
)
# HTML special characters
name <- 'Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson'
```
```{r, include=FALSE}
params <- list(
title = title,
users = users,
godzilla = godzilla,
navigation = navigation,
name = name
)
```
## Synopsis
A jinjar template is simply a text file, and when rendered the output is also a text file (e.g. HTML, SQL, LaTeX).
A template contains **variables** and/or **expressions**, which get replaced with values when a template is rendered; and **tags**, which control the logic of the template.
Below is a minimal template that illustrates a few basics using the default jinjar configuration.
We will cover the details later in this document:
```{jinjar, data=params, engine.opts=list(lang="html")}
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<title>{{ title }}</title>
</head>
<body>
<ul id="navigation">
{% for item in navigation -%}
<li><a href="{{ item.href }}">{{ item.caption }}</a></li>
{% endfor -%}
</ul>
{# a comment #}
</body>
</html>
```
The following example shows the default configuration settings, but you can adjust the syntax configuration as desired using `jinjar_config()`.
There are a few kinds of delimiters. The default delimiters are configured as follows:
* `{% ... %}` for [Statements](#control-structures)
* `{{ ... }}` for [Expressions](#expressions) to print to the template output
* `{# ... #}` for [Comments](#comments) not included in the template output
[Line Statements](#line-statements) are also possible, though they don’t have default prefix characters.
To use them, set `line_statement` when creating the `jinjar_config()`.
## Variables {#variables}
When writing a template, we refer to variables that act as data placeholders.
We define their values when rendering the template.
Although we pass R objects to `render()`, it is helpful to understand that these are encoded as JSON objects before the template is rendered.
| R object | JSON object | Template example |
|:----------------|:-----------------|:------------------|
| Length-1 vector | Scalar | `{{ foo }}` |
| Vector | Array | `{{ foo.1 }}` |
| List | Object | `{{ foo.bar }}` |
| Data frame | Array of objects | `{{ foo.1.bar }}` |
You can use dot (`.`) notation to access data nested within a variable.
An array element is accessed by its numeric **zero-based** index (e.g. `foo.1`) and an object value is accessed by its key (e.g. `foo.bar`).
**Note:** In R, the dot is a valid character in an object name (e.g. `my.data`).
However, this causes ambiguity when accessing nested data values.
For this reason, each dot is replaced with an underscore when the data is encoded as JSON (e.g. `my.data` becomes `my_data`).
**Note:** In R, a scalar is indistinguishable from a length-1 vector.
This creates an ambiguity when passing R data to the template, because template variables support both scalars and arrays.
You can explicitly pass a length-1 vector as an array using the `I()` operator (see `help("render")`).
The double-brace syntax is used to print the value of the variable (e.g. `{{ foo }}`).
To use the variable in other contexts (e.g. control structures), then these braces are omitted (e.g. `{% for bar in foo %}`).
If a template variable has not been defined, then an error occurs.
However, you can use the `default(foo, bar)` function to specify a fallback value.
## Comments {#comments}
To comment-out some lines, preventing them from appearing in the rendered document, use the comment syntax (default: `{# ... #}`).
This is useful for debugging or documenting the template.
```{jinjar}
Hello{# TODO: update this #}!
```
## Whitespace Control {#whitespace}
In the default configuration, whitespace (e.g. spaces, tabs, newlines) is left unchanged in the rendered output.
For example, in the default configuration we get:
```{jinjar, engine.opts=list(lang="html")}
<div>
{% if true %}
yay
{% endif %}
</div>
```
By setting `trim_blocks = TRUE` when creating the `jinjar_config()`, the first newline after a control block is automatically removed.
Setting `lstrip_blocks = TRUE` removes any whitespace from the beginning of the line until the start of each block.
With both options enabled, the above example becomes:
```{jinjar, engine.opts=list(lang="html", config=jinjar_config(trim_blocks=TRUE, lstrip_blocks=TRUE))}
<div>
{% if true %}
yay
{% endif %}
</div>
```
Instead of changing the global configuration, you can manually trim whitespace at a more finegrained level.
* By putting a minus sign (`-`) after the opening delimiter, this removes any whitespace from the beginning of the line until the start of the block (i.e. the same as the `lstrip_blocks` feature).
* By putting a minus sign (`-`) before the closing delimiter, this removes any whitespace (including newlines) until the next non-whitespace character (i.e. slightly different from the `trim_blocks` feature).
This can be activated for control blocks, comments, or variable expressions:
```{jinjar, engine.opts=list(lang="html")}
<div>
{% if true -%}
yay
{%- endif -%}
</div>
```
## Line Statements {#line-statements}
If line statements are enabled (see `jinjar_config()`), it’s possible to mark a line as a statement.
For example, if the line statement prefix is configured to `#`, you can do:
```{jinjar, data=params, engine.opts=list(lang="html", config=jinjar_config(line_statement="#"))}
<ul id="navigation">
# for item in navigation
<li><a href="{{ item.href }}">{{ item.caption }}</a></li>
# endfor
</ul>
```
## Control Structures {#control-structures}
A control structure refers to all those things that control the flow of a program.
With the default syntax, control structures appear inside `{% ... %}` blocks.
### For
A for-loop allows you to iterate over each element in a vector:
```{jinjar, data=params, engine.opts=list(lang="markdown")}
{% for user in users -%}
{{ loop.index1 }}. {{ user }}
{%- endfor -%}
```
or loop over key-value pairs in a named list:
```{jinjar, data=params, engine.opts=list(lang="html")}
<dl>
{% for key, value in godzilla %}
<dt>{{ key }}</dt>
<dd>{{ value }}</dd>
{% endfor -%}
</dl>
```
As described in [Variables](#variables), a data frame is translated to an array of JSON objects.
Therefore a nested combination of the above two loops could theoretically be used.
In practice, it is much more common to iterate over rows and access the individual elements by their attributes:
```{jinjar, data=params, engine.opts=list(lang="html", config=jinjar_config(line_statement="#"))}
<ul id="navigation">
{% for item in navigation -%}
<li><a href="{{ item.href }}">{{ item.caption }}</a></li>
{% endfor -%}
</ul>
```
While inside a for-loop block, you can access some special variables:
| Variable | Description |
|:----------------|:------------|
| `loop.index` | The current iteration (0-based). |
| `loop.index1` | The current iteration (1-based). |
| `loop.is_first` | True if first iteration. |
| `loop.is_last` | True if last iteration. |
| `loop.parent` | In nested loops, the parent loop variable. |
### If
Conditional branches are written using `if`, `else if` and `else` statements, which evaluate [Expressions](#expressions).
```{jinjar, data=params, engine.opts=list(lang="markdown")}
{% if length(users) > 5 -%}
{% for user in users -%}
* {{ user }}
{% endfor %}
{% else if length(users) > 0 -%}
{{ join(users, ", ") }}.
{% else -%}
No users found.
{% endif %}
```
### Assignments
Using the `set` statement, you can assign values to variables.
```{jinjar}
{% set name="world" -%}
Hello {{ name }}!
```
### Extends
The `extends` tag can be used for template inheritance.
See _Template Inheritance_ in `vignette("auxiliary-templates")`.
### Include
The `include` tag inserts the rendered contents of an auxiliary template.
See _Template Inclusion_ in `vignette("auxiliary-templates")`.
## Expressions {#expressions}
Basic expressions are supported in templates.
### Literals
The simplest form of expressions are literals, which represent fixed values.
As described in [Variables](#variables), the template is rendered using data stored in JSON format.
For this reason, literals must also be specified in [JSON format](https://www.w3schools.com/js/js_json_datatypes.asp).
The following types of literals are supported:
* **String:** characters between double quotation marks.
* Double quotation marks in the string value must be escaped using a backslash.
* **Integer:** whole numbers without decimal part.
* **Numeric:** floating point numbers.
* Specify in decimal or scientific format.
* **Boolean:** either `true` or `false`.
* Specify using lowercase characters.
* **List:** array of values between square brackets.
* **Object:** key-value data pairs between curly brackets
* Keys must be string literals, but values can be any literal type.
* **NULL:** missing data is represented by `null`.
Here is example usage for each type:
```{jinjar}
String: {{ "A string" }}
Integer: {{ 3 }}
Numeric: {{ 3.14 }} or {{ 1.6e-19 }}
Boolean: {{ true }} or {{ false }}
List: {{ [1, 2, 3] }}
Object: {{ {"a": 1, "b": 2} }}
Null: {{ null }}
```
### Math
You can perform simple arithmetic using standard operators:
```{jinjar}
1 + 1: {{ 1 + 1 }}
3 - 2: {{ 3 - 2 }}
2 * 2: {{ 2 * 2 }}
1 / 2: {{ 1 / 2 }}
2 ^ 3: {{ 2 ^ 3 }}
7 % 3: {{ 7 % 3 }}
```
### Comparisons
You can perform comparisons:
```{jinjar}
1 == 1: {{ 1 == 1 }}
1 != 1: {{ 1 != 1 }}
2 > 1: {{ 2 > 1 }}
2 >= 1: {{ 2 >= 1 }}
2 < 1: {{ 2 < 1 }}
2 <= 1: {{ 2 <= 1 }}
```
### Logic
Within expressions and control structures, you can use the Boolean operators: `and`, `or`, and `not`.
```{jinjar}
true and false: {{ true and false }}
true or false: {{ true or false }}
not false: {{ not false }}
```
You can also check if a value is contained within a list using `in`:
```{jinjar}
{{ 1 in [1, 2, 3] }}
```
## Functions
### Data Checks
You can check if a value exists by passing the variable name as a string:
```{jinjar, data=params}
users does exist: {{ exists("users") }}
abc doesn't exist: {{ exists("abc") }}
```
Similarly, you can check if a value exists within a JSON object, by passing the key as a string:
```{jinjar, data=params}
Birthplace does exist: {{ existsIn(godzilla, "Birthplace") }}
Weight doesn't exist: {{ existsIn(godzilla, "Weight") }}
```
Concisely handle missing values using the `default()` function:
```{jinjar, data=params}
{{ default(godzilla.Weight, 20000) }}
```
You can also check the data type of a variable or literal:
```{jinjar}
{{ isString("a string") }}
{{ isInteger(3) }}
{{ isFloat(3.14) }}
{{ isNumber(3) }} and {{ isNumber(3.14) }}
{{ isBoolean(false) }}
{{ isArray([1, 2, 3]) }}
{{ isObject({"a": 1, "b": 2}) }}
```
### Data Conversion
You can convert strings to numeric types, using the `int()` or `float()` functions:
```{jinjar}
{{ int("2") }}
{{ float("2.5") }}
```
### HTML Escaping {#html-escaping}
When generating HTML from templates, there’s always a risk that a variable will include characters that affect the resulting HTML.
The special characters are: `<`, `>`, `&` and `"`.
In jinjar, it's **your** responsibility to manually escape variables, using the `escape_html()` function.
You should escape variables that _might_ contain any of the special characters.
But if a variable is trusted to contain well-formed HTML, then it should not be escaped (otherwise you could accidentally double-escape the content).
```{jinjar, data=params, engine.opts=list(lang="html")}
<input type="text" value="{{ escape_html(name) }}">
```
### SQL Quoting {#sql-quoting}
SQL databases expect string literals to be wrapped in single-quotes, while other types of literals (e.g., numbers) are not quoted.
This is cumbersome to achieve when writing a template, so the `quote_sql()` function provides this functionality.
**Important:** `quote_sql()` does not provide any protection against SQL injection attacks.
```{jinjar, data=params, engine.opts=list(lang="sql")}
WHERE title = {{ quote_sql(title) }} AND year = {{ quote_sql(godzilla.Born) }}
```
When passed an array, `quote_sql()` will quote each element and return a comma-separated list.
This is particularly helpful when using the SQL `IN` operator.
```{jinjar, data=params, engine.opts=list(lang="sql")}
WHERE user IN ({{ quote_sql(users) }})
```
### Numeric Data
You can check if an integer is even or odd, or divisible by some other integer.
This could be used to make alternating row colors.
```{jinjar}
{{ even(42) }}
{{ odd(42) }}
{{ divisibleBy(42, 7) }}
```
You can round floating point numbers to a specific precision:
```{jinjar}
{{ round(3.1415, 0) }}
{{ round(3.1415, 3) }}
```
### String Data
Translate a string to lower case or upper case:
```{jinjar}
{{ lower("Hello") }}
{{ upper("Hello") }}
```
Escape special characters for use in HTML content (see [HTML Escaping](#html-escaping)):
```{jinjar, data=params, engine.opts=list(lang="html")}
<input type="text" value="{{ escape_html(name) }}">
```
Quote string data for use as string literals in a SQL query (see [SQL Quoting](#sql-quoting)):
```{jinjar, data=params, engine.opts=list(lang="sql")}
WHERE user IN ({{ quote_sql(users) }})
```
### JSON Lists
Get the number of list elements:
```{jinjar}
length(): {{ length([3,1,2]) }}
```
Get the first or last elements:
```{jinjar}
first(): {{ first([3,1,2]) }}
last(): {{ last([3,1,2]) }}
```
Get the minimum or maximum elements:
```{jinjar}
min(): {{ min([3,1,2]) }}
max(): {{ max([3,1,2]) }}
```
Sort the list into ascending order:
```{jinjar}
sort(): {{ sort([3,1,2]) }}
```
Join a list with a separator:
```{jinjar, data=params}
{{ join([1,2,3], " + ") }}
{{ join(users, ", ") }}
```
Generate a list as a range of integers:
```{jinjar}
{% for i in range(4) %}{{ loop.index1 }}{% endfor %}
```
Access elements using a dynamic index with `at()`.
Note that the index is **zero-based**.
```{jinjar}
{% set x = [1,2,3] -%}
{% set i = 2 -%}
{{ x.2 }}
{{ at(x, i) }}
```
### JSON Objects
Access values using a dynamic key with `at()`:
```{jinjar}
{% set x = {"a": 1, "b": 2} -%}
{% set key = "b" -%}
{{ x.b }}
{{ at(x, key) }}
```