3.7. Conclusion
In this chapter, we've looked at a few of the available templating tools that are commonly used in Perl; from simple formatssprintf, and the likeon through Text::Template and HTML::Template, and then up to the more sophisticated solutions of HTML::Mason and Template Toolkit.
But we've missed out on one quite important question: which one should you use? As usual, the answer depends partly on what you need and partly on your tastes.
First, consider the distinction between Perl-based systems like Text::Template and Text::Autoformat, and inside-out modules like HTML::Mason. If the main purpose of your program is to provide some templated output, as in the case of a web-based application, then you probably want to gravitate toward the HTML::Mason and Template Toolkit end of the spectrum.
You also need to consider who's going to be writing the templates and whether you want to expose them to Perl code. Template Toolkit, AxKit, and HTML::Template all tend to keep the templater away from Perl, whereas HTML::Mason forces the templater to get down and dirty with it.
Second, there's the element of personal taste. I'm not a great fan of HTML::Template, preferring the way Mason does things; I find AxKit very powerful but at times very frustrating because of its insistence on clean XML; and I'm beginning to like Template Toolkit the more I use it, but prefer Mason basically because I'm more used to it.
Your tastes may differ. It's just as well, that as with so many things in Perl, there's more than one way to do it.
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