Is it PHP : {if $related_categories}

[ze_newbie]

Hello everybody,
It's my first post and I just started learning PHP.
So excuse me for these newbie questions.

I open a template (with .tpl extension) and I found these snippets.

[code]
{$header}
{$lang.categories}
{/if}
{if $related_categories}
[/code]

My 1st question is :
I think it is not PHP, please can you tell me what does it mean ?

In the template I found also this :

[code]
<meta name="keywords" content="{$keywords}" />
<br />
[/code]

My 2nd question is : why is it for example [code]<br /> and not <br>[/code] ?

Thanks in advance.

[trq]

You are correct, this is not php. There are many template systems built with php and this appears to be one of them. Usually these template files are parsed by a template engine and the {$variables} you see are replace by something in a database.

[ze_newbie]

Thanks thorpe for your quick reply.
Please is there any tutorial for this.

[trq]

There are literally thousands of template engines written in php. Most are pretty simular though some are more complex. What is it you want a tutorial on? Creating the .tpl files? Or actually building a template engine?

The later would [b]not[/b] be a good place for a newbie to start learning php.

[ze_newbie]

Both please.
Don't worry I learn quickly and I had many years of assembly programming. Assembly was like my mother tongue.
I stopped coding for years but the "mechanic" still nice.  ;D

[.josh]

still, you should start by learning the traditional hello world, rather than an entire script, where basic syntax and rule knowledge are assumed.

[code=php:0]
<?php
  echo "hello world";
?>
[/code]

for instance.

[ze_newbie]

I already started with basics. I am not pretentious but for the "basics" I just need few days (quelques nuits blanches).
If am able to write an emulator I think that a template engine will not fear me.
Thanks for your help but a
[code]<?php
  echo "hello world";
?>[/code]
I already know that.
Excuse for disturbing.

[trq]

[url=http://www.google.com.au/search?q=php+template+engine+tutorial&start=0&start=0&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:unofficial]Google[/url] racked up quite a few results on the subject, Ive not read any tutorials myself.

[ze_newbie]

Many thanks [b]thorpe[/b] for your help.
Want also to say that I like phpfreaks.com.

[.josh]

okay well good luck on learning to build a template engine then. maybe i misunderstood you. you seem to ask how to do it, but you ask basic syntax questions, like the {blah} and why something has [code]<br/>[/code] and not [code]<br>[/code] (which btw isn't even php it's plain old html).  Maybe you can be more specific, or else maybe thorpe's linkie is what you are looking for?