= HAML (XHTML Abstraction Markup Language)
HAML is a markup language that is used to cleanly and simply describe the XHTML
of any web document without the use of inline code. HAML functions as a
replacement for inline page templating systems such PHP, RHTML, and ASP.
However, HAML avoids the need for explicitly coding XHTML into the template,
because it iself is a description of the XHTML, with some code to generate
dynamic content.
== Features
* Whitespace Active
* Well-formatted XHTML
* DRY
* Follows styles common in CSS
== Using HAML as a Rails plugin
Write Rails templates with the .haml extension. Example:
%html
%head
%title= "Teen Wolf (1985)"
%body
#contents
%h1 "A highschooler discovers that he is a werewolf"
%ul.cast
%li "Scott Howard"
%li "Rupert 'Stiles' Stilinski"
%li "Lisa 'Boof' Marconi"
%li "Lewis"
Would result in this XHTML:
Teen Wolf (1985)
A highschooler discovers that he is a werewolf
- Scott Howard
- Rupert 'Stiles' Stilinski
- Lisa 'Boof' Marconi
- Lewis
You can access instance variables in HAML templates the same way you do in ERb templates.
file: app/controllers/movies_controller.rb
class MoviesController < ApplicationController
def index
@title = "Teen Wolf"
end
end
file: app/views/movies/index.haml
#content
.title
%h1= @title
Would produce the following HTML:
---
Copyright (c) 2006 Hampton Catlin