Webgenz is repeating code before and after each line of a Macro value. Why?
What is the difference between using Webgenz and using Server Side Includes (SSI)? [Top]
Server Side Includes (SSI) are used to dynamically "include" blocks of HTML code into web pages
at the time the pages are requested by a browser. The web server actually processes the include
files and merges them into the HTML document. This can be a very useful technology for
specific applications, but it does not come close to providing the flexibility, usability, and
power of Webgenz.
More specifically, here are some important differences between Webgenz
and SSI:
- Webgenz supports page templates in addition to reusable HTML
code macros. SSI allows you to insert reusable code segments into HTML documents, but
it does not provide support for entire page templates as Webgenz does.
- Webgenz allows nesting of reusable blocks of HTML code. With Webgenz you can nest
reusable code to whatever depth you require. For example, if you have a reusable code
block that includes another reusable code block, you can implement this easily in Webgenz.
SSI does not support nesting.
- Webgenz allows reusable code macros to be organized into an
inheritance
hierarchy so that the reusable code can be "scoped" (i.e. global,
specific to a group of HTML documents, or specific to an individual HTML document). This
allows you to define default content macros at a more general level and
override them at the individual document level if necessary. This is particularly useful
for implementing site navigation where the selected navigation choice
changes from page to page. To implement this type of navigation you can define
site navigation in a global macro and then override a specific section of
the macro on each page to highlight the selected choice.
The idea of structuring reusable content macros into an inheritance hierarchy is based on
object-oriented programming concepts. Such concepts are not supported by SSI at all.
- Webgenz merges templates and content macros without going through a web server -- so you can easily create and view complete HTML files on your desktop
with only a web browser. With SSI, by definition, you can only view the
full page through a web server.
- Webgenz provides support for passing parameters to content macros.
This feature provides even more opportunities to reuse HTML code. SSI does not
support any parameter passing syntax.
- Webgenz provides an integrated development environment that allows point-and-click access to all of
the files that make up a web site project. With SSI there are no graphical development tools.
Tell me more about Webgenz and Content Management. [Top]
To learn more about Webgenz and Content Management, view this short PowerPoint Presentation.
Webgenz is deleting entire lines of code when I generate a document. Why? [Top]
As you are learning how to use Webgenz, you may be surprised to see entire lines of code missing in
the Documents that you generate. By default, Webgenz will delete the entire line of a Content File
if there is a Macro on that line that has a blank value. This is a feature of Webgenz that allows you
to conditionally include lines of code only if the Macro referenced on the line has a value. In general,
this is a very useful feature. However, until you become aware of this feature, you may
wonder why lines of code are missing from your generated Documents.
If you don't understand why a line of code is missing from your generated Document, first
inspect the Content File and verify that the Macro reference is well-formatted and that the
Macro name has the correct spelling. Spelling errors in Macro names can lead to deleted lines in
generated Documents.
If you need to work-around this feature, the easiest way to do so is to simply place a Macro reference on
a line by itself in a Content File. Then, if the Macro value is blank no other code from the Content File
will be deleted. In addition, if there are certain Macros for which this behavior should not apply, those Macros can be excluded
by listing them in a comma separated list in the "Conditional Deletion" area of the
"Project Properties -> Macros" screen.
Webgenz is repeating code before and after each line of a Macro value. Why? [Top]
This is one of the most frequently asked questions about using Webgenz. Webgenz is designed to repeat code
from a Content File before and after each line of a multi-line Macro value. This is a feature specifically
designed to maintain the format and readability of a generated Document. If you would like to stop this from
happening just make sure that a Macro reference appears on a line by itself in the Content File.
To learn more about Webgenz
read the user guide or download a
fully-functional version of Webgenz for evaluation now! Webgenz is
shareware.
