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ReFreezed edited this page May 20, 2021 · 27 revisions

Utility Functions

a

html = a( url [, label=prettyUrl(url) ] )

Create a simple HTML <a> element.

ceil

n = ceil( n )

Alias for math.ceil().

chooseExistingFile

path = chooseExistingFile( pathWithoutExtension, extensions )

Return the path of an existing file with any of the specified extensions. Returns nil if no file exists.

chooseExistingImage

path = chooseExistingImage( pathWithoutExtension )

Return the path of an existing image file with any of the specified extensions. Returns nil if no image file exists.

Short form for chooseExistingFile(pathWithoutExtension, IMAGE_EXTENSIONS).

cssPrefix

css = cssPrefix( property, value )

Quick and dirty way of adding vendor-specific prefixes to a CSS property. Example:

local css = cssPrefix("flex", "auto")
-- css is "-ms-flex: auto; -moz-flex: auto; -webkit-flex: auto; flex: auto;"

date

string = date( format [, time=now ] )

Alias for os.date(). (See the C docs for date format.)

entities

html = entities( text )

Encode &, <, >, " and ' characters into HTML entities (&amp; etc.).

errorf

errorf( [ level=1, ] format, ... )

Raise an error with a formatted message.

Short form for error(F(format, ...), level).

F

string = F( format, ... )

Alias for string.format().

fileExists

bool = fileExists( path )

Check if a file exists in the content folder.

fileExistsInOutput

bool = fileExistsInOutput( path [, skipRewriting=false ] )

Check if a file exists in the output folder, optionally without the usual rewriting of the path.

files

paths = files( folder, [ onlyFilenames=false, ] filenamePattern )
paths = files( folder, [ onlyFilenames=false, ] fileExtensionArray )
paths = files( folder, [ onlyFilenames=false, ] filterFunction )

Get a list of files in a folder inside the content folder. Examples:

local function dogFilter(filename)
	if filename:find"dog" then
		return true
	end
	return false
end

local imagePaths   = files("/images", IMAGE_EXTENSIONS)
local psdFilenames = files("/resources/misc", true, "%.psd$")
local dogPaths     = files("/animal-files", dogFilter)

find

item, index = find( array, attribute, value )

Get the item in the array whose attribute is value. Returns nil if no item is found.

findAll

items = findAll( array, attribute, value )

Get all items in the array whose attribute is value.

floor

n = floor( n )

Alias for math.floor().

formatTemplate

template = formatTemplate( format, valueTable )

Quick and dirty formatting of a template, presumably before using generateFromTemplate(). This replaces all instances of :key: with the corresponding field's value from valueTable. Example:

local templateUnformatted = [[
My dog, :dogName:, likes :thing:.
Other dogs probably like :thing: too!
]]

local template = formatTemplate(templateUnformatted, {
	dogName = "Timmie the Dog",
	thing   = "bones",
})

generateFromTemplate("/dogs/info.md", template)

Note that generateFromTemplate() can take page parameters as an argument that code blocks in the template can use. So, the above could be written more cleanly like this:

local template = [[
My dog, {{P.dogName}}, likes {{P.thing}}.
Other dogs probably like {{P.thing}} too!
]]

generateFromTemplate("/dogs/info.md", template, {
	dogName = "Timmie the Dog",
	thing   = "bones",
})

generatorMeta

html = generatorMeta( [ hideVersion=false ] )

Get HTML generator meta tag (e.g. <meta name="generator" content="LuaWebGen 1.0.0">). This tag makes it possible to track how many websites use this generator, which is cool! This should be placed in the <head> element.

getBasename

basename = getBasename( filename )

Get the filename without the extension. Example:

local basename = getBasename"blog/my-post.html"
print(basename) -- "my-post"

getCompleteOutputPath

pathInCwd = getCompleteOutputPath( path )

Get the final (possibly rewritten) path for any file path. Example:

local path      = "/images/dog.png"
local pathInCwd = getCompleteOutputPath(path)
print(pathInCwd) -- "output/images/dog.png"

Note: The returned path is relative to current working directory, which is always the site root folder. The LuaWebGen API generally only handle paths relative to the content folder - the return value from getCompleteOutputPath() is an exception.

getDataBinaryParsers

parsers = getDataBinaryParsers( )

[v1.2] Get all parsers for binary data files (including those defined with config.dataBinaryParsers).

getDataTextParsers

parsers = getDataTextParsers( )

[v1.2] Get all parsers for text data files (including those defined with config.dataTextParsers). Example:

local defaultParsers = getDataTextParsers()

config.dataTextParsers = {
	wlua     = defaultParsers.lua,
	metainfo = defaultParsers.xml,
}

getExtension

extension = getExtension( path )

Get the extension part of a path or filename.

getFilename

filename = getFilename( path )

Get the filename part of a path.

getImageDimensions

width, height = getImageDimensions( path )

Get the width and height of an image. Returns nil and a message on error.

getKeys

keys = getKeys( table )

Get the keys from a table.

getOutputtedFiles

fileInfos = getOutputtedFiles( )

Get an array with information about outputted files/pages. Each item is a table with these fields:

  • path: Path to the written file in the output folder (after having been rewritten by config.rewriteOutputPath).
  • url: The relative URL for the file.
  • sourcePath: Path to the file in the content folder that triggered the creation of the written file (if there was one - otherwise this is an empty string).

img

html = img( url [, alt="", title ] )
html = img( url [, alt="", useAltAsTitle=false ] )

Create a simple HTML <img> element.

indexOf

index = indexOf( array, value )

Get the index of a value in an array. Returns nil if the value was not found.

ipairsr

for index, value in ipairsr( array ) do

Iterate backwards through an array.

isAny

bool = isAny( valueToCompare, value1, value2, ... )

Compare a value against a set of values.

markdown

html = markdown( markdownText )

Convert Markdown to HTML.

max

n = max( n1, n2, ... )

Alias for math.max().

min

n = min( n1, n2, ... )

Alias for math.min().

newStringBuilder

stringBuilder = newStringBuilder( )

Create a handy string builder object, like so:

local b = newStringBuilder()

-- Add things.
b('<img src="icon.png">') -- One argument adds a plain value.
b(42) -- The one argument can be of any type.
b('<h1>%s</h1>', entities(page.title)) -- Multiple arguments act like string.format().

-- Get the contents.
local html = b() -- No arguments returns the concatenated string.

now

datetime = now( )

Get the current date and time as a datetime string.

pairsSorted

for key, value in pairsSorted( table ) do

Like pairs(), iterate over the fields of a table, but in alphabetic order of the keys (sorted naturally). Note that the function does not detect additions or removals of table fields during the iteration.

prettyUrl

text = prettyUrl( url )

Make a URL look nice for displaying as text. Example:

local url   = "https://www.animals.com/dogs/"
local label = prettyUrl(url) -- "animals.com/dogs"

echof('<a href="%s">%s</a>', url, label)

Also see a().

printf

printf( format, ... )

Short form for print(F(format, ...)).

printfOnce

printfOnce( format, ... )

Print a formatted message only once. Meant for preventing too much spam in the console/log.

printObject

printObject( ... )

[v1.1] Better printing of tables (though the function accepts any value).

Note: Does not print to the log file - only to stdout.

printOnce

printOnce( ... )

Print value(s) only once. Meant for preventing too much spam in the console/log.

removeItem

removeItem( array, value1, ... )

Remove one or more values from an array. Does not remove duplicate values.

round

number = round( number )

Round a number.

sortNatural

array = sortNatural( array [, attribute ] )

Naturally sort an array of strings. If the array contains tables you can sort by a specific attribute instead. Example:

local t = {"10","2","1"}
table.sort(t)  -- t is {"1","10","2"}
sortNatural(t) -- t is {"1","2","10"}

local objects = {
	{type="chair", type=1},
	{type="bed",   type=2},
	{type="house", type=3},
}
sortNatural(objects, "type")

split

parts = split( string, separatorPattern [, startIndex=1, plain=false ] )

Split a string by a pattern. Example:

local dogs = split("Fido,Grumpy,The Destroyer", ",")

thumb

html = thumb( imagePath, thumbWidth [, thumbHeight ] [, isLink=false ] )

Create a thumbnail from an image and get HTML code for showing the thumbnail. At least one of thumbWidth or thumbHeight must be a positive number. 0 means no restriction in that dimension. Note that sides may get cut off if the aspect ratio of the thumbnail is different from the image. Example:

{{ thumb("/images/gorillaz-fan-art.png", 400, 400, true) --[[ Size is 400x400.   ]] }}
{{ thumb("/images/a-big-tree.gif", 512, true)            --[[ Width is 512.      ]] }}
{{ thumb("/images/a-big-tree.gif", 512, 0, true)         --[[ Same as the above. ]] }}
{{ thumb("/images/1000-clown-cars.jpg", 0, 350, false)   --[[ Height is 350.     ]] }}

toDatetime

datetime = toDatetime( time )

Convert a time number to a datetime string.

toLua

luaString = toLua( value )

Convert a value to a Lua literal. Supported value types are: boolean, nil, number, string and table. Example:

-- Round-trip test for a string value.
local valueBefore = "foo"
local luaCode     = "return "..toLua(valueBefore)
local chunk       = loadstring(luaCode)
local valueAfter  = chunk()
assert(valueBefore == valueAfter)

toTime

time = toTime( datetime )

Convert a datetime string to a normal time number value that standard libraries understand. Example:

local time        = toTime(page.publishDate)
local publishYear = os.date("%Y", time)

trim

string = trim( string )

Remove surrounding whitespace from a string.

trimNewlines

string = trimNewlines( string )

Remove surrounding newlines from a string.

url

encodedString = url( urlString )

Percent-encode a URL (spaces become %20 etc.).

Note: url() does not encode HTML entities, like ampersand, thus does not produce valid HTML:

local src  = url"/thumb.php?size=200&name=Hello world!"
local html = F('<img src="%s">', entities(src)) -- Correct.
local html = F('<img src="%s">', src) -- Incorrect.

urlAbs

encodedString = urlAbs( urlString )

Same as url() but also prepends site.baseUrl to relative URLs, making them absolute.

urlExists

bool = urlExists( url )

Check that a file for the URL exists. Useful e.g. as a sanity check after moving a bunch of pages (that now should have explicit aliases). Note that URLs to pages that have not been generated yet will make the function return false. See validateUrls() for multiple URL checks. Example:

function config.validate()
	local url = "/old-folder/my-post/"
	if not urlExists(url) then
		error("Page is missing: "..url)
	end
end

urlize

urlPart = urlize( string )

Make a string look like a URL. Useful e.g. when converting page titles to URL slugs.

urlize("Hello, big world!") -- "hello-big-world"

validateUrls

validateUrls( urls )

Check that files for multiple URLs exist, and trigger an error if any don't exist. Useful e.g. as a sanity check after moving a bunch of pages (that now should have explicit aliases). See urlExists() for single URL checks. Example:

function config.validate()
	validateUrls{
		"/old-folder/my-post/",
		"/work-in-progress/dog.png",
	}
end

warning

warning( message )

Prints a big warning message to the console. Nothing else happens.

warningOnce

warningOnce( message )

Prints a big warning message to the console once only. Nothing else happens.

Context-Specific Functions

There are currently 3 contexts where code can run:

echo

echo( string )

Output a string from a template. HTML entities are encoded automatically. Available in templates. Also, see echoRaw().

Note: This function is used under the hood and it's often not necessary to call it manually. For example, these rows do the same thing:

{{ date"%Y" }}
{{ echo(date"%Y") }}

echof

echof( format, ... )

Short form for echo(F(format, ...)).

echofRaw

echofRaw( format, ... )

Short form for echoRaw(F(format, ...)).

echoRaw

echoRaw( string )

Like echo(), output a string from a template, except HTML entities don't become encoded in this string. Available in templates.

echo   ("a < b") -- Output is "a &lt; b"
echoRaw("a < b") -- Output is "a < b"

Note: In templates, if an echo function isn't used then HTML entities are sometimes encoded and sometimes not - LuaWebGen tries to be smart about it:

{{ "<br>" }}            -- Output is "<br>"
{{ "Foo <br>" }}        -- Output is "Foo &lt;br&gt;"

{{ echo"<br>" }}        -- Output is "&lt;br&gt;"
{{ echo"Foo <br>" }}    -- Output is "Foo &lt;br&gt;"

{{ echoRaw"<br>" }}     -- Output is "<br>"
{{ echoRaw"Foo <br>" }} -- Output is "Foo <br>"

generateFromTemplate

page = generateFromTemplate( path, templateString )
page = generateFromTemplate( path, templateString, pageParameters )
page = generateFromTemplate( path, templateString, pageInitializer )

Generate a page from a template string. Optionally takes page parameters as an argument for code blocks in the template, or it's layout, to use. Available in config.before() and config.after(). Examples:

local path     = "/dogs/fido.md"
local template = "# Fido\n\nFido is fluffy!"
local page     = generateFromTemplate(path, template)
printf("We generated page '%s'.", page.url)
local template = [[
{{
page.title  = "Carpets"
page.layout = "normalPageWithFooter"
}}

Experience the best carpets around!
]]

local params = {
	creditsInPageFooter = {
		{what="Fabric", who="Soft Inc."},
		{what="Paint",  who="Bob Bobson Co."},
	},
}

generateFromTemplate("/products/carpets.md", template, params)

[v1.1] If the pageInitializer argument is given, it should be a callback function. It will execute before any embedded code in the template just as if the function's body was the topmost part of the header code block. The function also will be called in the template context, so the usual global objects, like page or params, are accessible like normally in a template. In other words, this is a good place to update page properties.

This example has the same outcome as the previous example:

local template = [[
Experience the best carpets around!
]]

generateFromTemplate("/products/carpets.md", template, function()
	page.title  = "Carpets"
	page.layout = "normalPageWithFooter"

	P.creditsInPageFooter = {
		{what="Fabric", who="Soft Inc."},
		{what="Paint",  who="Bob Bobson Co."},
	}
end)

include

html = include( filename )

Get the result of a HTML template from the layouts folder. Available in templates.

Note: Exclude the extension from the filename (e.g. include("footer")).

isCurrentUrl

bool = isCurrentUrl( url )

Check if the relative URL of the current page is url. Available in templates. Example:

{{ if isCurrentUrl"/blog/last-post/" }}
You've reached the end!
{{ end }}

isCurrentUrlBelow

bool = isCurrentUrlBelow( urlPrefix )

Check if the relative URL of the current page starts with urlPrefix. Available in templates. Example:

{{ local class = isCurrentUrlBelow"/blog/" and "current" or "" }}

<a href="/blog/" class="{{ class }}">Blog</a>

lock

lock( )

Prevent further changes to page properties, such as page.isDraft and page.publishDate. This allows the current page to be referenced elsewhere (e.g. in index pages) even during it's generation, preventing circular dependencies. Also see config.autoLockPages. Example:

{{
page.title = "Cute Kittens"
lock()
page.title = "Sly Turtles" -- Error!
}}

TODO: Add a better example.

outputRaw

outputRaw( path, contents )

Output any data to a file in the output folder. Available in config.before() and config.after(). Example:

outputRaw("/docs/versions.txt", "Version 1\nReleased: 2002-10-16\n")

preserveRaw

preserveRaw( path )

Prevent a previously outputted raw file from being cleaned out from the output folder after the site generation is done. This function makes it possible to not having to call outputRaw() every time the site builds which could decrease build time. Available in config.before() and config.after().

Note: This functionality is automatically used for all non-template files (like images or JavaScript files) in the content folder.

subpages

pages = subpages( [ allowCurrentPageToBeIncluded=false ] )

Recursively get all pages in the current folder and below, sorted by page.publishDate. Intended for index pages, but can be used anywhere. Available in templates. Example:

# Blog Archive

{{ fori page in subpages() }}
- [{{ os.date("%Y-%m-%d", toTime(page.publishDate)) }} {{ page.title }}]({{ page.url }})
{{ end }}

Note: Two pages in the same folder cannot normally request all subpages - that would result in an infinite loop as LuaWebGen tries to generate all subpages before returning a list of them. However, you can solve this by calling lock() in all relevant pages, or enable config.autoLockPages. This will prevent further changes to essential page information (such as page.isDraft or page.publishDate) and thus allowing the page to be referenced elsewhere even during it's generation.

Another possible solution is to generate at least one of those two pages in config.after().

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