JavaScript templating

JavaScript templating refers to the client side data binding method implemented with the JavaScript language. This approach became popular thanks to JavaScript's increased use, its increase in client processing capabilities, and the trend to outsource computations to the client's web browser. Popular JavaScript templating libraries are AngularJS, Backbone.js, Ember.js, Handlebars.js, Vue.js and Mustache.js. A frequent practice is to use double curly brackets (i.e. {{key}}) to call values of the given key from data files, often JSON objects.

Examples

All examples use an external file presidents.json with following contents

{
  "presidents" : [
      { "name": "Washington", "firstname": "George", "born": "1732", "death": "1799" },
      { "name": "Lincoln", "firstname": "Abraham", "born": "1809", "death": "1865" }
  ]
}

All examples will produce the following HTML list:

Washington (1732-1799)
Lincoln (1809-1865)

Library HTML Code Explanation

DNA Template

<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href=".../template.css"/>
<script src=".../jquery.min.js"></script>
<script src=".../jquery.template.min.js"></script> ➊

Our favorite presidents are:
<ul id="target">
    <li template="[presidents]" z-var="name ., born ., death .">
     ${name} (${born}-${death})
    </li>
</ul> ➋

<script>
    $.getJSON('.../presidents.json', function(data) {
        $('#target').template(data);
    });
</script> ➌

➊ Load the necessary resources, including required jQuery
➋ The HTML code with template attribute marking for-each subtemplate and z-var replacement instructions.
➌ Load JSON data from presidents.json and apply data to the HTML template with id attribute "target".

Mustache.js

<script src=".../jquery.min.js"></script>
<script src=".../mustache.min.js"></script> ➊

Our favorite presidents are:
<ul id="target"></ul> ➋

<script id="president-template" type="text/template">
    {{#presidents}}
        <li>{{name}} ({{born}}-{{death}})</li>
    {{/presidents}}
</script> ➌

<script>
    $.getJSON('.../presidents.json', function(data) {
        var template = $('#president-template').html();
        var info = Mustache.to_html(template, data);
        $('#target').html(info);
    });
</script> ➍

➊ Load the necessary libraries, here mustache.js and jQuery
➋ The HTML code provides a "target" to insert generated contents into.
➌ Provide a template named "president-template".
➍ Last is a function grasping the JSON data, and for each president's subitem, grasping one template and filling it to finally select the HTML page's target appending the whole to it.

Templating becomes useful when the information distributed may change, is too large to be maintained in various HTML pages by available human resources and not large enough to require heavier server-side templating.

References

JavaScript templates, Mozilla Developer Network, 2013
Basavaraj, veena (2012), The client-side templating throwdown: mustache, handlebars, dust.js, and more, Linkedin.com
Villalobos, Ray (2012), Introduction to JavaScript Templating (video tutorial) with Mustache.js, ViewSource.com, archived from the original on 2013-05-13
Burgess, Andrew (2012), Best Practices When Working With JavaScript Templates, Net.tutsplus.com
Landau, Brian (2009), Benchmarking Javascript Templating Libraries
http://www.jquery4u.com/javascript/10-javascript-jquery-templates-engines/
Comparison with Other Frameworks, Vue.js, retrieved 11 December 2018

v t e JavaScript templating libraries
Libraries	AngularJS Backbone.js Ember.js Handlebars.js KnockoutJS Mustache.js React.js Vue.js Svelte
Concepts	Model–view–controller (MVC) Model–view–viewmodel (MVVM)

Examples

See also

References