Implemented [Suggestion] XenEasyTemplateHooks™ :)

[Vladislav Rastrusny]

All XenForo developers are waiting for template hooks to be included into XenForo. It's absolutely necessary for us So, just a small idea on relatively easy implementation of this feature.

Part 1. Find/Replace.
Provide a new hook for addons

before_template_compilation($templateName,  &$templateText)

to allow us to execute simple text find/replace operations over templates immediately before they are compiled.

Part 2. <xen:hook>
Just add compiler tag

<xen:hook name="i_am_a_template_hook" />

and provide a new hook for addons

process_template_hook($templateName, $hookName, $textToInsert)

. This template hook is to be called immediately before each template compilation and will allow addons to insert arbitrary HTML including XenForo template tags into templates. From what I know now about XenForo architecture, it's very easy to implement. We will be able then extend corresponding controller to inject additional data into template to be displayed, if we need.

Part 3. <xen:area>
Sometimes (rare, I think) addon needs to completely replace some contents inside template by his own version. For example, replace who is online with more advanced version, replace the data below avatar in user's profile with an improved one etc. So, tags like

<xen:section name="i_am_a_template_section">Contents</xen:section>

can be added around specific areas inside a template and a template hook can be provided

process_template_section($templateName, $sectionName, &$replacementText)