README

Welcome to herml, the Haml-like templating language!

Building:
1) Install leex 0.3 or greater. Putting it in your $ERLANG_HOME/lib is best.
   leex is included with R13B01.
2) Clone the herml repo from Github.
3) Run make
4) Put the herml/ebin directory somewhere on your code path:
  4a) Symlink the top-level herml directory into your $ERLANG_HOME/lib directory
                                -or-
  4b) Use the -pz or -pa switches on erl to place herml/ebin onto your code path

Using in Sinan:
1) Clone the herml repo from Github
2) Run `make special` in the herml directory
3) Make sure your sinan project can find the herml repo
   3a) Clone inside your projects lib directory
                  -or-
   3b) Symlink the herml directory to your projects lib directory

4) Keep it up to date:
  a) Pull down latest changes
  b) `make clean`
  c) `make special`

Running tests:
1) Run make clean tests


Using herml:

1) Start up a herml_manager process for your template directory:

1> herml_manager:start_link(my_web_app,"/path/to/templates").

Note: herml_manager can cache the compiled template and use it over and over.

2) Execute the template by calling the herml_manager process:

2> Result = herml_manager:execute_template("file.herml", Env).

Note: Env is a proplist containing the execution environment for the
template. herml expects all variable names to be Erlang strings. For
example, here's a valid environment proplists: [{"UserName", "herml"}].

The UserName variable would be referenced from herml as @UserName.

Another note: For efficiency reasons, herml_manager:execute_template/2,3,4 
returns iolists when it executes templates. If you want to view the 
template output as a standard string, you can use the io module 
to flatten the iolist: 

3> io:format("~s", [Result]).