Cheetah Software - The Python powered template and code generator tool - Should you buy it?
What is Cheetah Software?
Cheetah is an open source template engine and code generator tool that is written in Python. It is useful for creating heavy volume, fast changing dynamic websites. The tool can generate HTML, XML, and many other text based formats. Its overall design can create results in an object-oriented interface, which can separate the content, programming code and web/graphic design sections of a project. By separating in this manner, it is thought that projects can be completed by IT professionals in teams more efficiently. Team members will not hinder the progress of others since their work does not affect the completion of their own work.
Who is using Learning about Cheetah and using it?
Cheetah software is used in open-source projects by the government, commercial and academic applications. Some of these organizations include: Dell, CNN, eBay, PayPal and LA Care Health Plan.
Creating the Template and Code
The creation of Cheetah templates does require knowledge of Python and object oriented programming methodology. Programmers who would like an alternative to ASP, JSP or PSP will find Cheetah a comparable tool. Cheetah can also be used as a code generator to extend programming libraries and code for Java, SQL, C++ and other languages. This gives the programmer flexibility with data structure, modules, functions, objects and methods.
Using Cheetah Templates
Once the Cheetah templates are in place, users can use them without having to know any specific programming language. If you want to learn about Cheetah, it does not require a large learning curve.
Web/Graphic designers can put “placeholders” (values that will be substituted at runtime) that will be used for dynamic components and content. Placeholders can be identified by “$”. They can also reuse the templates for areas of a project that may have the same type of display or function. Web designers would also be interested to note that the Cheetah program doesn’t use HTML “style” tags. Since rendered HTML tags can cause errors and can be hard to distinguish from “style” tags, they are not used.
Once the web/graphic designers have finished with the template the program is compiled into the Python language. From this point content writers can then use the templates to add takes as needed.
Other Cheetah Functions
Cheetah software can be integrated with Webware for Python (a server and servlet framework) which provides cookie user management, is cross operating system compatible, provides auto session and works with different servers and databases.
Resources
Image Credit: https://www.sxc.hu/profile/doc Sias van Schalkwyk
