Discus 4.0 includes a template language that permits variable substitution, if-then-else conditional processing, for and foreach loops, and other functionality specifically suited to present Discus discussion board data. This section serves to document the use of the template language itself, and is intended to serve as a reference for advanced programmers who wish to add new functionality to their templates.

You will NOT find here documentation on the variable names that specific sections of Discus make available for use within templates, nor will you find specific examples of adding functions to Discus.

• General Template Structure
• Special Built-In Variables
• Variable Substitution
• Conditional (IF-THEN) Processing
• Loop (FOREACH) Processing
• Loop (FOR) Processing
• Defining Strings & Arrays
• Extracting Array Elements
• Interaction with Skins
• Text Operations
• Subroutines
• Flow Control (Labels)
• Mathematical Operations
• Global Options
• Colors
• Foreign (non-English) languages

Several examples of code will be given to illustrate points explained in the various sections. When code is presented, it will be displayed in the following format:

Example code will appear
in this style of formatting

Sometimes, output from the code is displayed. When output is presented, it will be displayed in the following format:

Example output will appear
in this style of formatting

When variables or code appear in italics, the italicized portion represents something that you, the end-user, must substitute as appropriate for your board. Simply copying the italicized portions into your code will likely not work as you expect, or could cause errors.

This documentation makes use of cascading style sheets (CSS) to enhance the display. This is best displayed in Internet Explorer 4.0 and higher, or in Mozilla Firefox. We regret that these pages do not display well in lower versions of Internet Explorer or Netscape, and we urge users of those browsers to upgrade their browsers for proper display of these pages.