As we saw in Chapter 3, within your template files you can use tags. Some need to be in the loop, while others can be called outside the loop. I'll start with some of my more recent, favorite tags; we'll then move on to the essentials you need to know.
The WordPress template tag library is extensive and the creative ways you can use the tags in your themes can just stretch to infinity. I've included the tags that make a template useful and great, but by all means, do check out the codex: http://codex.wordpress.org/Template_Tags.
Depending on your site type, you might want to reference author information in your theme. In this book's case study, the author's information really helps give it a magazine feel, with a subtle focus on the authors. WordPress 2.8 saw the release of the_author_meta and the newly modified author tags. We used the_author_meta tag in our loop in Chapter 3. While the_author(param) still works, its parameters are being deprecated...