Template Inheritance | Templating

Introduction

Template inheritance is a powerful feature in templating systems which allows you to build complex and consistent web page layouts by reusing existing templates. This tutorial will guide you through understanding and implementing template inheritance in PHP.

Understanding Template Inheritance

Template inheritance allows you to define a base template that contains the common structure and layout of your website. You can then extend this base template in other templates, adding or overriding specific parts as needed. This reduces code duplication and makes it easier to maintain a consistent design across multiple pages.

Setting Up the Environment

To get started with template inheritance in PHP, you'll need a basic understanding of how PHP works and a local development environment with PHP installed. Ensure you have the following setup:

PHP installed on your system
A text editor or IDE
A web server (like Apache or Nginx) or a local development server (like XAMPP or MAMP)

Creating the Base Template

First, we'll create a base template that defines the common structure of our web pages. This template will include placeholders for content that can be overridden in child templates.

<!-- base.php -->
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
    <meta charset="UTF-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <title>My Website</title>
</head>
<body>
    <header>
        <h1>Welcome to My Website</h1>
    </header>
    <main>
        <?php echo $content; ?>
    </main>
    <footer>
        <p>© 2023 My Website</p>
    </footer>
</body>
</html>

Creating a Child Template

Next, we'll create a child template that extends the base template. This child template will provide specific content for the placeholders defined in the base template.

<!-- child.php -->
<?php
$content = <<<HTML
    <section>
        <h2>About Us</h2>
        <p>This is the about us section of the website.</p>
    </section>
HTML;
include 'base.php';
?>

Running the Templates

To see the template inheritance in action, open your browser and navigate to the location of your child.php file. The content from the child template will be inserted into the base template, and you will see a complete web page with the combined content.

Output:

Welcome to My Website

About Us
This is the about us section of the website.

© 2023 My Website

Advantages of Template Inheritance

Template inheritance offers several advantages:

Code Reusability: You can reuse the common layout across multiple pages.
Consistency: Ensures a consistent look and feel across the entire website.
Maintainability: Makes it easier to update the layout since changes in the base template are reflected in all child templates.

Conclusion

Template inheritance is a powerful tool in PHP development that helps you build maintainable, reusable, and consistent web page layouts. By defining a base template and extending it with child templates, you can streamline your development process and ensure a cohesive design across your website.

Template Inheritance in PHP