ftmpl: a fast and typesafe golang (html) templating library

I always wondered why so many templating "languages" expect you learn a completely new language. For example, jstl, django templating, and golang templating. I know what a mess PHP can become if you mix too much PHP code, html and javascript code. But I, also, think that most developers today know that this is a no-no.

Another thing I dislike about templating libraries is that so many of them are type unsafe. Even when the original language is typesafe.

For example, in Golang:

type Inventory struct {
 Material string
 Count    uint
}
sweaters := Inventory{"wool", 17}
tmpl, err := template.New("test").Parse("{{.Count}} items are made of {{.Material}}")
if err != nil { panic(err) }
err = tmpl.Execute(os.Stdout, sweaters)
if err != nil { panic(err) }

But what if you call:

err = tmpl.Execute(os.Stdout, "jkljkl")

The template expects an argument that has Material and Count fields. But I executed it with a string! This will fail, but -- not in compile time! Keep in mind that in most cases templates are created in advance (not in runtime). This error should be caught in compile time, if you ask me. Especially if you (like me) moved to Golang from a scripting language -- because of its type safety.

Fast forward to my ftmpl... Ftmpl is a fast, typesafe templating for Golang I created for my last side project (more soon). Ftmpl generates Golang code from .tmpl files. Every template is "converted" to a Golang function, then you just call that function. If you declare your template with an argument Inventory then you can't call it with a string. The error will be caught on compile-time not in runtime!

See the README for more niceties (like extending templates, autoescaping, formatting output, ...).