Book Image

Mastering TypoScript: TYPO3 Website, Template, and Extension Development

Book Image

Mastering TypoScript: TYPO3 Website, Template, and Extension Development

Overview of this book

Free, open-source, flexible, and scalable, TYPO3 is one of the most powerful PHP content management systems. It is well suited for creating intranets and extranets for the enterprise. While providing an easy-to-use web interface for non-technical authors and editors of content, its messaging and workflow system enable shared authoring and collaboration. TYPO3 provides flexible and powerful interfaces for both content editors and administrators, giving them full control of the core aspects the system. However for developers who need to customize the system, TYPO3 offers a powerful configuration language called TypoScript. Good knowledge of TypoScript is really a prerequisite for implementing complex applications with TYPO3 and gives developers full control over the configuration of TYPO3 and its template engine. TypoScript enables the complete output template to be created and manipulated, giving you full control over the layout of the site. TypoScript also allows you to integrate dynamic contents, JavaScript-based menus, Flash, Graphics, etc. with ease. You have maximum control over the design of the website and can control all options that would otherwise be addressed by HTML-simple text output, formatting, and much more. TypoScript also allows you to generate graphics at run time and display different content dynamically.
Table of Contents (19 chapters)
Mastering TypoScript: TYPO3 Website, Template, and Extension Development
Credits
About the Author
Preface

Principles of Design Templates


A distinction is made between static and dynamic elements in websites based on TYPO3. Typical static elements are:

  • The table structure for the definition of the basic layout (these should, however, be replaced by CSS)

  • Graphics, which are used at multiple locations can be defined statically; this is recommended for logos

Dynamic elements include:

  • A text link to a printable version

  • A text menu

  • A news area

What do static and dynamic elements have to do with the design template? All static elements are hard-coded in the HTML file. On the other hand, everything dynamic is marked with placeholders. These placeholders can then easily be replaced with dynamic content.

There are two different types of placeholders—markers and subparts. The principle of working with placeholders, by the way, is not a TYPO3 invention—they are used in other CM systems as well. These systems usually use several types of placeholders which can be quite confusing. Fortunately, TYPO3 only has two...