There are 4 types of tags: 1. code blocks 2. expression blocks 3. pee directives 4. comment blocks 1. code blocks Code blocks are surrounded by the '' and '?>' delimiters. Between the delimiters, you may have ANY valid perl code. Example: $a = 1; $b = 4; $c = $a + $b; # '$c' can be used elsewhere in the page later ?> 2. expression block Expression blocks are snippets of perl expression that you wish to print in-place. They are surrounded by the '=' and '?>' delimiters. Again, ANY valid perl expression can go into an expression block. Expression blocks don't have to end with a semicolon (';'). Example: I have = $c ?> cats. Well, actually I had =$a?> at first, then I got another =$b?>. Altogether I have = $a + $b ?>. 3. pee directives Pee directives are special purpose functions that are made available to the template designers to address certain needs. They are surrounded by the '!' and '?>' delimiters. Currently, there are only two directives, 'include' and 'sinclude'. This is provided to avoid duplicate code / text. You may use the 'include' directive to source in another file to be expanded in place. It can be a normal text or HTML file (but you would be better off using the 'sinclude' directive for this), or another PET file. The 'include'd file will be interpreted just like a PET file, i.e. all PET syntax will be recognized. You are expected not to create infinite loops with cyclical references. The 'sinclude' directive can be used to statically include a text resource, like a static header or date_stamp, etc. into a PET file. The file will not be compiled but simply inserted. Example: !include html_head.pet?>
blah blah !sinclude copyright.html?> 4. comment block Pee comment blocks will be ignored by the page compiler. You may place any comment that you do not want to get generated between '--' and '?>'. This is analogous to the HTML comment ''. While the HTML comments are not displayed in the browser, PEE comments are not even generated in the output from the server. example: -- This button is tied to the process_cc() routine ?> *** And of course, you can have any other text anywhere, inter-mixed with any of these directives.