[wp-hackers] Easytags template system

[Doug Stewart]

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Matt Mullenweg wrote:
> Neither do I, but so many people have said it so many times over the
> years, even if I don't understand it I can't deny that it exists. I
> think it's because it *looks* like programming even though it isn't, and
> it also has the "<?php" everywhere. Maybe it would be less scary if we
> used short tags, but that isn't really an option for us because of
> compatibility issues.
> 
> What it really comes down to is whatever part of WP makes people feel
> dumb should be softened if it's within our ability to do so.
> 

I think the issue here is that there's no way for Joe Sixpack to
determine right off the bat (without consulting the WP Template Tags
reference in the Codex) what is Official WordPress Template Code(TM) and
what is actual functional php.  For instance, themes/"mods" such as K2,
Canvas, Squible, etc. extensively use WP TT's, as well as custom
function calls and even some embedded queries in order to do all manner
of extra non-core functionality.  It's very difficult for average users
to, at a glance, readily understand what's going on in a certain theme
because, as far as they're concerned, a call to <?php
the_excerpt_reloaded(); ?> isn't immediatel distinguishable from <?php
the_excerpt(); ?>, sans extensive theme author commenting.

The MT-style template tags are readily identifiable as SEPARATE from the
rest of the HTML markup, while in WP, all the php has a tendency to run
together and we end up getting plugin peanut butter in our core
chocolate.  J6P would like that to NOT be the case, if I'm reading
everything correctly.

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Doug Stewart
Systems Administrator/Web Applications Developer
Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Labs
dstewart at atl.lmco.com
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