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Handlebars.js

8.2K
3.2K
+ 1
309
Mustache

2.4K
415
+ 1
50
Pug

1.2K
1.2K
+ 1
467

Handlebars.js vs Mustache vs Pug: What are the differences?

Introduction

In website development, there are several template engines available to streamline the process. Three popular template engines are Handlebars.js, Mustache, and Pug. In this analysis, we will highlight the key differences between these template engines and provide a concise summary.

  1. Syntax and readability: Handlebars.js uses a simple and intuitive syntax, resembling HTML, making it easy to read and understand. Mustache also follows a similar syntax but lacks certain features like conditionals. On the other hand, Pug uses a combination of indentation and tags, which can be initially confusing but offers concise and readable code once familiarized.

  2. Conditional logic: Handlebars.js provides built-in support for conditional statements, allowing developers to incorporate logic within the templates. Mustache, however, lacks this feature and only focuses on variable substitution. Pug, while having access to JavaScript logic, utilizes a different syntax for conditionals, requiring additional learning to work with.

  3. Loop iteration: Both Handlebars.js and Mustache allow for loop iteration through arrays and objects. Handlebars.js provides more flexibility and features, such as nested loops, custom helpers, and partials. Mustache, however, has simpler syntax for loop iteration but lacks these additional functionalities. Pug, being focused on indentation-based structure, does not have specific syntax for loop iteration, which may require using JavaScript loops directly.

  4. Partial templates: Handlebars.js and Mustache both support partial templates, which allow developers to reuse code across the application. This provides modularity and avoids code duplication. However, Pug, being indentation-based, does not have a dedicated partial template feature. Instead, it offers mixin functionality, which can achieve a similar result but requires a different approach.

  5. Whitespace handling: Handlebars.js and Pug handle whitespaces differently. Handlebars.js preserves all whitespaces in the HTML output, which can sometimes result in unwanted spaces. Pug, on the other hand, removes unnecessary whitespaces by default, resulting in cleaner HTML output. Mustache, being a logic-less template engine, does not have any specific handling for whitespaces.

  6. JavaScript usage: Handlebars.js and Pug allow developers to execute JavaScript code within the templates, providing greater flexibility for complex logic. Mustache, being a logic-less template engine, does not directly support JavaScript execution and focuses on variable substitution.

In Summary, Handlebars.js and Mustache offer more flexibility and features for conditional logic, loop iteration, and partial templates compared to Pug. However, Pug provides a simpler and more concise syntax once mastered and has better whitespace handling by default.

Advice on Handlebars.js, Mustache, and Pug
Asad Gilani
Software Engineer at Lisec Automation · | 5 upvotes · 202.1K views
Needs advice
on
Handlebars.jsHandlebars.js
and
LiquidLiquid

@All: I am searching for the best template engine for .NET. I started looking into several template engines, including the Dotliquid, Handlebars.js, Scriban, and Razorlight. I found handlebar a bit difficult to use when using the loops and condition because you need to register for helper first. DotLiquid and Scriban were easy to use and in Razorlight I did not find the example for loops.

Can you please suggest which template engine is best suited for the use of conditional/list and looping and why? Or if anybody could provide me a resource or link where I can compare which is best?

Thanks In Advance

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Replies (1)
Josh Lind
Recommends
on
Handlebars.jsHandlebars.js

I like Handlebars, it's very mature... some would say-- outdated.

Handlebars loops are done via {{#each myList}}. Read the docs! https://handlebarsjs.com/guide

Remember, don't put logic in your templates! Keep this layer simple. Sorry to hear you have to use dotNet.

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Pros of Handlebars.js
Pros of Mustache
Pros of Pug
  • 106
    Simple
  • 77
    Great templating language
  • 50
    Open source
  • 36
    Logicless
  • 20
    Integrates well into any codebase
  • 10
    Easy to create helper methods for complex scenarios
  • 7
    Created by Yehuda Katz
  • 2
    Easy For Fornt End Developers,learn backend
  • 1
    Awesome
  • 29
    Dead simple templating
  • 12
    Open source
  • 8
    Small
  • 1
    Support in lots of languages
  • 138
    Elegant html
  • 90
    Great with nodejs
  • 59
    Open source
  • 59
    Very short syntax
  • 54
    Structured with indentation
  • 25
    Free
  • 6
    Really similar to Slim (from Ruby fame)
  • 6
    It's not HAML
  • 6
    Gulp
  • 5
    Clean syntax
  • 5
    Readable code
  • 5
    Easy setup
  • 5
    Difficult For Front End Developers,learn backend
  • 4
    Disdain for angled brackets

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What is Handlebars.js?

Handlebars.js is an extension to the Mustache templating language created by Chris Wanstrath. Handlebars.js and Mustache are both logicless templating languages that keep the view and the code separated like we all know they should be.

What is Mustache?

Mustache is a logic-less template syntax. It can be used for HTML, config files, source code - anything. It works by expanding tags in a template using values provided in a hash or object. We call it "logic-less" because there are no if statements, else clauses, or for loops. Instead there are only tags. Some tags are replaced with a value, some nothing, and others a series of values.

What is Pug?

This project was formerly known as "Jade." Pug is a high performance template engine heavily influenced by Haml and implemented with JavaScript for Node.js and browsers.

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Jun 19 2015 at 6:37AM

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What are some alternatives to Handlebars.js, Mustache, and Pug?
AngularJS
AngularJS lets you write client-side web applications as if you had a smarter browser. It lets you use good old HTML (or HAML, Jade and friends!) as your template language and lets you extend HTML’s syntax to express your application’s components clearly and succinctly. It automatically synchronizes data from your UI (view) with your JavaScript objects (model) through 2-way data binding.
React
Lots of people use React as the V in MVC. Since React makes no assumptions about the rest of your technology stack, it's easy to try it out on a small feature in an existing project.
Underscore
A JavaScript library that provides a whole mess of useful functional programming helpers without extending any built-in objects.
doT.js
It is a fastest and concise javascript template engine for Node.js and browsers. It was created in search of the fastest and concise JavaScript templating function with emphasis on performance under V8 and Node.js. It shows great performance for both Node.js and browsers.
Vue.js
It is a library for building interactive web interfaces. It provides data-reactive components with a simple and flexible API.
See all alternatives