Can you explain the meaning of `<%= something %>` to me?

I've been working on a javascript project and I'm curious about the purpose of surrounding a variable with this syntax?

<%= variable %>

I attempted to research it myself but didn't come across any helpful information, so my apologies if this question has already been addressed! =)

Thank you!

Answer №1

ERB-style tags are commonly used across various languages and formats to input simple variables into a page or perform logic on the passed variables.

Since this is a Javascript page, it would be beneficial for you to explore underscore.js's templating engine documentation to understand the process better. http://underscorejs.org/#template

For further clarification on the distinctions between <%- %>, <%= %>, and <% %> tags in Underscore, check out this SO page: Boolean checks in underscore templates

In essence, interpolate presents the element as text (not HTML), escape enables embedding of HTML, and evaluate executes the enclosed JS code.

Answer №2

There are several server-side languages that could be used, such as JSP, ASP (vbscript), or ASP.NET, but it's important to distinguish them from JavaScript. One way to differentiate is by checking the file extension of the document you're working on.

  • If the file ends in .asp, it's an ASP (vbscript) file.
  • If the file ends in .aspx, it's an ASP.NET file.
  • If the file ends in .jsp, it's a JSP file.

Answer №3

This block of code showcases a JSP scriptlet expression. Typically found in files with a .jsp extension, JSP is a server-side view technology rooted in Java, akin to PHP and ASP. It's important to note that JSP is unrelated to JavaScript—rather, it serves as an HTML code generator alongside PHP and ASP.

In this specific snippet, the code outputs the String form of a variable value directly into the HTTP response where the expression resides. Think of it like a System.out.println(variable), but tailored for the HTTP response body instead. While some JSP/Servlet containers may allow these expressions to run in .js files served by the servletcontainer, it's not the standard setup.

JSP scriptlet expressions are considered somewhat outdated, often resulting in tightly coupled and hard-to-maintain codebases. For more on avoiding Java code in JSP files, check out How to avoid Java code in JSP files?

Answer №4

If you're in need of some insights on ASP tags, these are utilized by ASP and ASP.NET for client-side code to interact with the server.

For instance, picture this scenario where I have a hidden input nested within a repeater control on my webpage:

<input type="hidden" name="baz" id="baz" runat="server" value="blah" />

To retrieve the rendered ID (which may not just be "baz" if it's inside an ASP control), you'd have to access it from the server like so:

var hiddenID = <%= baz.ClientID %>;

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