[wp-trac] [WordPress Trac] #16128: WordPress Template System Override

[WordPress Trac]

#16128: WordPress Template System Override
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 Reporter:  pearsonified  |      Owner:
     Type:  enhancement   |     Status:  new
 Priority:  normal        |  Milestone:  Awaiting Review
Component:  Themes        |    Version:  3.1
 Severity:  normal        |   Keywords:  themes, templates
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 As it's currently constructed (in version 3.0.4), the WordPress template
 loader (wp-includes/template-loader.php) is relatively inflexible. No
 matter how a theme operates, it's forced through the series of if-
 statements and template "fetches" defined in lines 23–41 of template-
 loader.php.

 Fortunately, by making very simple modifications to this file, we can
 accommodate themes/frameworks/template systems that may have different
 (and, ideally, more efficient) ways of determining which template to show
 and how to show it.

 This is sensible because developers only need the contents of $wp_query in
 order to determine which template to show. While the current workings of
 the WP template system include a lot of "convenience" functions, these
 unnecessary function calls could be skipped entirely by relying upon the
 $wp_query->is_[x] variables.

 My proposal for a template system override is quite simple, and it
 introduces one new constant and one new hook into the core. The constant,
 WP_THEME_TEMPLATE, is a boolean value that theme developers should place
 in their functions.php file and set to TRUE only if they have defined
 their own template system. The hook, theme_template, is the "tie-in" point
 for the developer's template system.

 The template-loader.php file must be modified to accommodate the constant
 and hook described above. Fortunately, this can be done in 4 lines of
 code, as evidenced by (new) lines 22–24 and line 48 in the attached
 template-loader.php file.

 I like this template system solution because it does not affect any
 current themes, developers, or development practices. Despite this, it
 opens to door to innovation and places the dev community in a position to
 come up with mind-blowing new ways to handle template/theme functionality.

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Ticket URL: <http://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/16128>
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