169 lines
8.7 KiB
Markdown
169 lines
8.7 KiB
Markdown
[](https://travis-ci.org/wycats/handlebars.js)
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[](https://ci.appveyor.com/project/wycats/handlebars-js)
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[](https://saucelabs.com/u/handlebars)
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Handlebars.js
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=============
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Handlebars.js is an extension to the [Mustache templating
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language](http://mustache.github.com/) created by Chris Wanstrath.
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Handlebars.js and Mustache are both logicless templating languages that
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keep the view and the code separated like we all know they should be.
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Checkout the official Handlebars docs site at
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[http://www.handlebarsjs.com](http://www.handlebarsjs.com) and the live demo at [http://tryhandlebarsjs.com/](http://tryhandlebarsjs.com/).
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Installing
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----------
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See our [installation documentation](http://handlebarsjs.com/installation.html).
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Usage
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-----
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In general, the syntax of Handlebars.js templates is a superset
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of Mustache templates. For basic syntax, check out the [Mustache
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manpage](http://mustache.github.com/mustache.5.html).
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Once you have a template, use the `Handlebars.compile` method to compile
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the template into a function. The generated function takes a context
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argument, which will be used to render the template.
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```js
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var source = "<p>Hello, my name is {{name}}. I am from {{hometown}}. I have " +
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"{{kids.length}} kids:</p>" +
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"<ul>{{#kids}}<li>{{name}} is {{age}}</li>{{/kids}}</ul>";
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var template = Handlebars.compile(source);
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var data = { "name": "Alan", "hometown": "Somewhere, TX",
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"kids": [{"name": "Jimmy", "age": "12"}, {"name": "Sally", "age": "4"}]};
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var result = template(data);
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// Would render:
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// <p>Hello, my name is Alan. I am from Somewhere, TX. I have 2 kids:</p>
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// <ul>
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// <li>Jimmy is 12</li>
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// <li>Sally is 4</li>
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// </ul>
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```
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Full documentation and more examples are at [handlebarsjs.com](http://handlebarsjs.com/).
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Precompiling Templates
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----------------------
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Handlebars allows templates to be precompiled and included as javascript code rather than the handlebars template allowing for faster startup time. Full details are located [here](http://handlebarsjs.com/precompilation.html).
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Differences Between Handlebars.js and Mustache
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----------------------------------------------
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Handlebars.js adds a couple of additional features to make writing
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templates easier and also changes a tiny detail of how partials work.
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- [Nested Paths](http://handlebarsjs.com/#paths)
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- [Helpers](http://handlebarsjs.com/#helpers)
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- [Block Expressions](http://handlebarsjs.com/#block-expressions)
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- [Literal Values](http://handlebarsjs.com/#literals)
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- [Delimited Comments](http://handlebarsjs.com/#comments)
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Block expressions have the same syntax as mustache sections but should not be confused with one another. Sections are akin to an implicit `each` or `with` statement depending on the input data and helpers are explicit pieces of code that are free to implement whatever behavior they like. The [mustache spec](http://mustache.github.io/mustache.5.html) defines the exact behavior of sections. In the case of name conflicts, helpers are given priority.
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### Compatibility
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There are a few Mustache behaviors that Handlebars does not implement.
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- Handlebars deviates from Mustache slightly in that it does not perform recursive lookup by default. The compile time `compat` flag must be set to enable this functionality. Users should note that there is a performance cost for enabling this flag. The exact cost varies by template, but it's recommended that performance sensitive operations should avoid this mode and instead opt for explicit path references.
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- The optional Mustache-style lambdas are not supported. Instead Handlebars provides its own lambda resolution that follows the behaviors of helpers.
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- Alternative delimiters are not supported.
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Supported Environments
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----------------------
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Handlebars has been designed to work in any ECMAScript 3 environment. This includes
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- Node.js
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- Chrome
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- Firefox
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- Safari 5+
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- Opera 11+
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- IE 6+
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Older versions and other runtimes are likely to work but have not been formally
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tested. The compiler requires `JSON.stringify` to be implemented natively or via a polyfill. If using the precompiler this is not necessary.
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[](https://saucelabs.com/u/handlebars)
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Performance
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-----------
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In a rough performance test, precompiled Handlebars.js templates (in
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the original version of Handlebars.js) rendered in about half the
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time of Mustache templates. It would be a shame if it were any other
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way, since they were precompiled, but the difference in architecture
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does have some big performance advantages. Justin Marney, a.k.a.
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[gotascii](http://github.com/gotascii), confirmed that with an
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[independent test](http://sorescode.com/2010/09/12/benchmarks.html). The
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rewritten Handlebars (current version) is faster than the old version,
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with many [performance tests](https://travis-ci.org/wycats/handlebars.js/builds/33392182#L538) being 5 to 7 times faster than the Mustache equivalent.
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Upgrading
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---------
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See [release-notes.md](https://github.com/wycats/handlebars.js/blob/master/release-notes.md) for upgrade notes.
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Known Issues
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------------
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See [FAQ.md](https://github.com/wycats/handlebars.js/blob/master/FAQ.md) for known issues and common pitfalls.
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Handlebars in the Wild
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----------------------
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* [Assemble](http://assemble.io), by [@jonschlinkert](https://github.com/jonschlinkert)
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and [@doowb](https://github.com/doowb), is a static site generator that uses Handlebars.js
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as its template engine.
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* [Cory](https://github.com/leo/cory), by [@leo](https://github.com/leo), is another tiny static site generator
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* [CoSchedule](http://coschedule.com) An editorial calendar for WordPress that uses Handlebars.js
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* [dashbars](https://github.com/pismute/dashbars) A modern helper library for Handlebars.js.
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* [Ember.js](http://www.emberjs.com) makes Handlebars.js the primary way to
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structure your views, also with automatic data binding support.
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* [Ghost](https://ghost.org/) Just a blogging platform.
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* [handlebars_assets](http://github.com/leshill/handlebars_assets): A Rails Asset Pipeline gem
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from Les Hill (@leshill).
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* [handlebars-helpers](https://github.com/assemble/handlebars-helpers) is an extensive library
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with 100+ handlebars helpers.
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* [handlebars-layouts](https://github.com/shannonmoeller/handlebars-layouts) is a set of helpers which implement extendible and embeddable layout blocks as seen in other popular templating languages.
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* [hbs](http://github.com/donpark/hbs): An Express.js view engine adapter for Handlebars.js,
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from Don Park.
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* [koa-hbs](https://github.com/jwilm/koa-hbs): [koa](https://github.com/koajs/koa) generator based
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renderer for Handlebars.js.
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* [jblotus](http://github.com/jblotus) created [http://tryhandlebarsjs.com](http://tryhandlebarsjs.com)
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for anyone who would like to try out Handlebars.js in their browser.
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* [jQuery plugin](http://71104.github.io/jquery-handlebars/): allows you to use
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Handlebars.js with [jQuery](http://jquery.com/).
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* [Lumbar](http://walmartlabs.github.io/lumbar) provides easy module-based template management for
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handlebars projects.
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* [Marionette.Handlebars](https://github.com/hashchange/marionette.handlebars) adds support for Handlebars and Mustache templates to Marionette.
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* [sammy.js](http://github.com/quirkey/sammy) by Aaron Quint, a.k.a. quirkey,
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supports Handlebars.js as one of its template plugins.
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* [SproutCore](http://www.sproutcore.com) uses Handlebars.js as its main
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templating engine, extending it with automatic data binding support.
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* [YUI](http://yuilibrary.com/yui/docs/handlebars/) implements a port of handlebars
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* [Swag](https://github.com/elving/swag) by [@elving](https://github.com/elving) is a growing collection of helpers for handlebars.js. Give your handlebars.js templates some swag son!
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* [DOMBars](https://github.com/blakeembrey/dombars) is a DOM-based templating engine built on the Handlebars parser and runtime **DEPRECATED**
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* [promised-handlebars](https://github.com/nknapp/promised-handlebars) is a wrapper for Handlebars that allows helpers to return Promises.
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* [just-handlebars-helpers](https://github.com/leapfrogtechnology/just-handlebars-helpers) A fully tested lightweight package with common Handlebars helpers.
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External Resources
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------------------
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* [Gist about Synchronous and asynchronous loading of external handlebars templates](https://gist.github.com/2287070)
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Have a project using Handlebars? Send us a [pull request][pull-request]!
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License
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-------
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Handlebars.js is released under the MIT license.
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[pull-request]: https://github.com/wycats/handlebars.js/pull/new/master
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