Getting started

First steps

Getting started with DotLiquid is very easy. A DotLiquid template is rendered in two steps: Parse and Render. For an overview of the DotLiquid syntax, please read formatting.

Template template = Template.Parse("hi {{name}}");  // Parses and compiles the template
template.Render(Hash.FromAnonymousObject(new { name = "tobi" })); // Renders the output => "hi tobi"

The Parse step creates a fully compiled template which can be re-used. You can store it in memory or in a cache for faster rendering later.

All parameters you want to use in your DotLiquid templates have to be passed as parameters to the Render method. DotLiquid does not know about your C# (or VB.NET) local or instance variables.

Rules for template rendering parameters

Objects that you pass to Template.Render must satisfy one of the following conditions:

• Type is an integral type (int, string, decimal, etc.) or anonymous type
• Class inherits from Drop (more info)
• Class implements ILiquidizable
• Class is decorated with [LiquidType] attribute. Note that you must specify the allowed member names. For example: [LiquidType("AllowedMember1", "AllowedMember2")].
• Type is registered with Template.RegisterSafeType(Type type, string[] allowedMembers)
• Type is registered with Template.RegisterSafeType(Type type, Func<object, object> func)