CGI Programming with Perl, 2nd Edition

Chapter 6. HTML Templates

The CGI.pm module makes it much easier to produce HTML code from CGI scripts written in Perl. If your goal is to produce self-contained CGI applications that include both the program logic and the interface (HTML), then CGI.pm is certainly the best tool for this. It excels for distributable applications because you do not need to distribute separate HTML files, and it’s easy for developers to follow when reading through code. For this reason, we use it in the majority of the examples in this book. However, in some circumstances, there are good reasons for separating the interface from the program logic. In these circumstances, templates may be a better solution.

Reasons for Using Templates

HTML design and CGI development involve very different skill sets. Good HTML design is typically done by artists or designers in collaboration with marketing folks and people skilled in interface design. CGI development may also involve input from others, but it is very technical in nature. Therefore, CGI developers are often not responsible for creating the interface to their applications. In fact, sometimes they are given non-functional prototypes and asked to provide the logic to drive it. In this scenario, the HTML is already available and translating it into code involves extra work.

Additionally, CGI applications rarely remain static; they require maintenance. Inevitably, bugs are found and fixed, new features are added, the wording is changed, or the site is redesigned ...