xm

This lightweight HTML preprocessor, courtesy of Giuseppe Gurgone, offers a concise solution for a persistent HTML shortcoming: the lack of native include functionality. While numerous workarounds exist, the enduring need for this feature over decades highlights a potential area for HTML evolution. This preprocessor provides an elegant alternative.

Its strength lies not just in simple includes, but in its clean templating capabilities using includes. Compare this to solutions like Nunjucks, which employ a more complex template syntax. For example, a Nunjucks template might look like this:

<code>{% block header %}
  This is the default (overridable) header.
{% endblock %}

  {% block footer %}
    This is the default (overridable) footer.
  {% endblock %}</code>

Pages would then extend this template:

<code>{% extends "parent.html" %}
{% block footer %}
  Special footer for this page.
{% endblock %}</code>

This preprocessor maintains a more HTML-centric syntax. A template (template.html):

<code><slot name="header"></slot><slot name="footer"></slot></code>

...is used within a page like so:

<code><import src="template.html"><fill name="header">Custom Header</fill><fill name="footer"><p>Custom footer</p></fill></import></code>

The simplicity is noteworthy. Furthermore, the ability to seamlessly integrate Markdown using <markdown></markdown> tags adds significant practical value.

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