Using template engines
======================
By default Yii uses PHP as template language, but you can configure it to support other rendering engines, such as
[Twig ](http://twig.sensiolabs.org/ ) or [Smarty ](http://www.smarty.net/ ).
The `view` component is responsible for rendering views. You can add a custom template engines by reconfiguring this
component's behavior:
```php
[
'components' => [
'view' => [
'class' => 'yii\web\View',
'renderers' => [
'tpl' => [
'class' => 'yii\smarty\ViewRenderer',
//'cachePath' => '@runtime/Smarty/cache',
],
'twig' => [
'class' => 'yii\twig\ViewRenderer',
//'cachePath' => '@runtime/Twig/cache',
//'options' => [], /* Array of twig options */
],
// ...
],
],
],
]
```
In the config above we're using Smarty and Twig. In order to get these extensions in your project you need to modify
your `composer.json` to include
```
"yiisoft/yii2-smarty": "*",
"yiisoft/yii2-twig": "*",
```
in `require` section and then run `composer update` .
Twig
----
To use Twig, you need to create templates in files with the `.twig` extension (or use another file extension but configure the component accordingly).
Unlike standard view files, when using Twig, you must include the extension when calling `$this->render()`
or `$this->renderPartial()` from your controller:
```php
echo $this->render('renderer.twig', ['username' => 'Alex']);
```
### Additional functions
Yii adds the following construct to the standard Twig syntax:
```php
< a href = "{{ path('blog/view', {'alias' : post.alias}) }}" > {{ post.title }}< / a >
```
Internally, the `path()` function calls Yii's `Html::url()` method.
### Additional variables
Within Twig templates, you can also make use of these variables:
- `app` , which equates to `\Yii::$app`
- `this` , which equates to the current `View` object
Smarty
------
To use Smarty, you need to create templates in files with the `.tpl` extension (or use another file extension but configure the component accordingly). Unlike standard view files, when using Smarty, you must include the extension when calling `$this->render()`
or `$this->renderPartial()` from your controller:
```php
echo $this->render('renderer.tpl', ['username' => 'Alex']);
```
### Additional functions
Yii adds the following construct to the standard Smarty syntax:
```php
< a href = "{path route='blog/view' alias=$post.alias}" > {$post.title}< / a >
```
Internally, the `path()` function calls Yii's `Html::url()` method.
### Additional variables
Within Smarty templates, you can also make use of these variables:
- `$app` , which equates to `\Yii::$app`
- `$this` , which equates to the current `View` object
