Скачать или смотреть How to Use the Underscore JavaScript Library to Populate Templates with Dynamic Variables

Discover how to effectively use the `Underscore` JavaScript library to populate your HTML templates dynamically without issues. Learn how to resolve common problems encountered while working with template variables.
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This video is based on the question https://stackoverflow.com/q/64069358/ asked by the user 'Sergio Omar Martinez Garcia' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/13142789/ ) and on the answer https://stackoverflow.com/a/64069865/ provided by the user 'trincot' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/5459839/ ) at 'Stack Overflow' website. Thanks to these great users and Stackexchange community for their contributions.

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Mastering Template Population with the Underscore JavaScript Library

When developing web applications, dynamic content presentation is vital to engaging users. One common scenario involves using JavaScript libraries to populate HTML templates with variable data. In this guide, we will explore a typical issue developers face when using the Underscore JavaScript library to display variables in HTML templates and how to efficiently resolve it.

The Problem Explained

Imagine you have a template that you want to populate with day names from a list. You initially crafted a template using standard HTML tags, and it worked flawlessly for dropdown menus. However, when you sought to display the variable day in a header tag using Underscore's templating system, the resultant output failed to reflect the expected value. Instead, the browser rendered the text literally as <%- day%>.

Why Does This Happen?

The root of the issue lies in how HTML encodes special characters. Specifically, the < and > entities represent < and > in HTML respectively. As a result, when you attempt to pass HTML template content to the _.template() method, it doesn't recognize your intended variable because it's reading it as encoded entities instead of proper template syntax.

Effective Solutions

Here are a few strategies you can employ to resolve this issue and successfully populate your templates with dynamic content using Underscore:

1. Use a String Literal Instead of a Template Element

If you're comfortable skipping the template element, consider defining your template directly as a string within your JavaScript code. This avoids any complications that arise from HTML encoding altogether.

2. Keep Using the Template Element, but Modify the Content

If you prefer to utilize the template element for organizational purposes, you can store your template as an HTML comment. By doing this, you're effectively unwrapping the template when fetching it; hence, you can ensure that your intended syntax remains intact.

Example Code

Here’s an example demonstrating the above solution:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

And here’s the corresponding HTML structure:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Underscore JavaScript library offers a powerful templating solution for dynamically populating HTML content. By understanding and addressing the encoding issues that can arise with HTML template elements, developers can create more flexible and dynamic interfaces for their applications. Whether you choose to use string literals or cleverly utilize HTML comments, the process of populating your templates with JavaScript can be both efficient and straightforward.

For any developer trying to harness the power of templating in their web applications, grasping these concepts is crucial. Happy coding!