# Tag Line Commands tlc is: * A Verbose, Robust Templating Language * Valid HTML5 * designed to fit in attributes- commits to using single-quotes to keep your syntax clean. * Shell script-y, readable, obvious * Extensible * Packaged for use with ExpressJS * Will be useable with jQuery An example of usage with Express var express = require('express'); var app = express(); var http = require('http'); var fs = require('fs'); var tlc = require('tlc'); app.engine('html',tlc.express); app.set('views', './path/to/views/'); // specify the views directory app.set('view engine', 'html'); // register the template engine app.get('/',function(req,res){ //The second parameter to render should be a JSON object that the view will be translated over. res.render('index',{ message : "Hello World", }); }); http.createServer(app).listen(3000); the contents of ./path/to/views/index.html: test

When running the app, localhost:3000 will serve > # Hello World ## Commands The above example introduces 2 of the core commands in tlc, `bind` and `apply`. Commands are functions, executed with arguments, within a context. Each tag creates a new context, and before any commands are executed, it consists solely of the JSON data object being translated. `bind` is one of the most important commands in tlc- it allows you to bind (and even create) a variable within the tlc's context to a component of JSON data object. For example: `bind $msg '.message';` from above create's the variable `msg`, and writes "Hello World" to it from the JSON object. This command takes 2 arguments- first, a variable reference to bind into, and second, a JSONPath formatted string to reference the binding. Our second command, `apply --append=$msg;`, de-reference's our variable `msg`. The `apply` command is used for applying changes to the tag we are executing commands on, in this case, appending to it. Note that we can shorten our tlc statement to `bind $msg '.message'; apply --append;` and it will still apply the contents of the `msg` variable. This is because by `bind`ing it, `msg` has become the **focus** variable. All core commands will use the focus variable if none is provided. This is both for syntactic convenience, and also to allow simple chaining on the focus variable, for example, if we were rendering a VERY simple product page: var productData = { "name" : "pie" "price" : "3.14" }
Holy new commands, batman! A few things to note here: * `math --mult='100' --mod='100';` - The `math` command parses its arguments sequentially, meaning that you can daisy chain a bunch of arithmetic together for convenience. Note, a few lines down, `format` does the same thing. * `format --prepend='$' --append='.';` - The `format` command allows you to format the focus variable before you append it to the tag. Note a few lines down- you can use format to add HTML content. * `focus $cents;` - The `focus` command shifts the current focus variable, just like `bind` (and `set`), however it doesn't change the contents of the variable like `bind` (and `set`). * `apply --append=$dollars; apply --append=$cents;` - The `apply` command only takes one 'verb' at a time, currently. This may change in future versions of the core API, but for now, we can't daisy chain like math. The full list of core commands: * `bind` : bind (and create) a variable to the JSON data object * `set` : set (and create) a variable to a scalar value; * `apply` : apply a change to the tag * `format` : format the focus variable * `tlc` : recursively call tlc for the contents of the tag. This is useful for when you have added tlc from within your tlc commands (yo dawg) * `stringify` : set the focus variable to a stringified version of its current value; * `focus` : set the focus to a different variable. * `math` : perform arithmetic on the focus variable * `datetime` : set the focus variable to the current date. `--out='pretty'` or `--out='mdy'` formats are supported. * `is` : used in conditionals (see below). ## Modules Modules allow developers to extend the command set usable in tlc: var tlc = require('tlc'); var moduleObject = require('./mymodule.js'); tlc.addModule('mymodule',moduleObject); This module can be referenced in templates:
One module that is not-quite-core but you might find awfully useful is [template](https://github.com/michaelchance/tlc-template) For more information, please visit the [Module API](modules.md) ## Conditionals
## Loops