[stringtemplate-interest] Thoughts on StringTemplate

Adam Bennett adamb at videx.com
Mon Jul 23 10:15:38 PDT 2007


I'd just like to cast my vote for the "use"/import feature that John suggests.  I ran into this limitation right off the bat.  You should be able to call templates defined in another group file.
  _____  

From: Terence Parr [mailto:parrt at cs.usfca.edu]
To: StringTemplate [mailto:stringtemplate-interest at antlr.org]
Sent: Thu, 28 Jun 2007 15:55:53 -0700
Subject: Re: [stringtemplate-interest] Thoughts on StringTemplate


  On Jun 1, 2007, at 8:00 PM, John Snyders wrote:
  
  > On my blog I give some ideas for future work on the StringTemplate  
  > language.
  >
  > I would be interested in any feedback either here on the mailing  
  > list or
  > in comments
  > to my blog.
  >
  > See:
  > http://hardlikesoftware.com/weblog/2007/06/01/thoughts-on- 
  > stringtemplate-part-1/
  >
  > I plan to add one or two more posts on the same topic.
  
  Hi John,
  
  Nice stuff.  I really like the way you have laid out the difference  
  between maps and objects and so on.  These discrepancies arose from  
  the evolutionary nature of string template as I added more and more  
  features.   The language needs to be cleaned up and I think I would  
  like to add the cardinality information so that we can say whether an  
  element has there are more or is optional etc.  As for the shape of  
  the object, I like the idea, but then would we not be re-specifying  
  the class definition inside the template? Is that not like just  
  pointing at the class definition then?  Then we'd be typing the  
  arguments.  I guess not, it would be like specifying an interface to  
  a subset of the fields.  Hmm...perhaps
  
  test(user.{name,phone,salary}+, title) ::= "..."
  
  indicates that there are one or more users that have three field I  
  use and there is a title attribute which must exist.
  
  As you point out so correctly in the second post
  
  http://hardlikesoftware.com/weblog/2007/06/25/thoughts-on- 
  stringtemplate-part-2/
  
  the the difference between templates and groups of templates really  
  needs to be rethought.  Tom Burns, a co-author of the ST engine, is  
  asking me to build a backward-incompatible version that fixes this  
  problem.  4.0? As I understand his issues, he wants directories of  
  templates and group files to behave identically. Currently, there is  
  no template-relative addressing-- all of the templates are absolute  
  from the group root even if they don't start with /. The ability to  
  have parameter definitions on individual template files is also  
  necessary.  I can't remember what syntax I was thinking here.  I  
  think this is what you are describing in your post. As you point out,  
  a way to referred to templates for multiple groups at once is  
  necessary; sort of like a CLASSPATH.
  
  As for the "use"/import idea: I'm not sure this should be done  
  statically.  I think a dynamic " here is the list of groups you can  
  draw templates from" might be better.  Or, are you saying this is a  
  more general version of inheritance?
  
  Ter
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