Template system (computing)

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"Template system" redirects here. For other uses, see Template system (disambiguation).

Template systems deal with the commitment between template, template engine, and a system's final-user team, on the output document production. They are systems for software development or for publishing processes. In general they are modular self-contained sub-systems, to use into another system.

A computerized template system is comprised of:

Template engine: the software, when it is processesing a specific input, transforming into specific output, it have two input suppliers:
- Template resource: supply the template and the default template library.
- Data resource: a input supplier, like a SQL database or a XML file, locally or remotely.
Template language, input data model and output data model standards.

1 Uses and types of systems
2 Formal characterization

[edit] Uses and types of systems

Template system is used in various contexts for different purposes. The domain-specific purpose is ordinarily contingent upon the software application or developer of the software in use. However, the flexibility of template systems often enables unconventional uses for purposes not originally intended by the original designers.

[edit] Document generation

Document generation frameworks typically use template processing as the central model for generating documents. The template and the output of the engine are viewed as documents.

There are many kinds "document-centric" template systems, and, they can be grouped as:

Web template systems are used specifically in Web contexts, for web page or web document production.
Word processing sub-systems.
Mailing list sub-systems.
Software documentation automatic generation sub-systems.
Desktop publishing sub-systems using master pages and style sheets.
Database publishing (report) sub-systems and automated content entry into desktop publishing documents.
"XML Document-centric" template systems. See XML template systems. There are some overlap with Web because XML was primarilly a Web standard, and some overlap with ohers, because XML may/will be the standard format for all of then.

[edit] Source code generation

Source code generation tools support generation of source code (as the result documents) from abstract data models (e.g., UML, relational data, domain-specific enterprise data stores) for particular application domains, particular organizations, or in simplifying the production process for computer programmers.

Source code generation systems, are centered on the application (typically a compiller) and the engine part of the system: Preprocessor and source code template engine are the main examples. See also related topics: Template (programming), Template (software engineering), Template metaprogramming.