'Nother geek question

[bubosquared]

Say I want to use one template for all my pages, have the template in one file, and the actual content in another. Template meaning including things like links to other parts of the site, "back" links, etc. Is this something I can do with XML, or do I need PHP or whatever for that?

Comments

[eponymous.livejournal.com]

For the kind of thing you want to do, php is very easy. You'd basically make template files -- your header, your links, whatever -- and then call them into the main page with a simple line of code. It's a snack.

As for paying, you'd need to check whether your hosting plan already provides php. If they don't, however, it's really not worth paying the extra just to do what you want to do. It's like buying an entire chocolate cake because you want to eat the cherry on top. :)

A better option, if you can't get php for free, is to check if you have ssi. For what you want to do, the method will be virtually identical to what you'd do with php, and pretty much all hosts support ssi these days.

Re:

[bubosquared.livejournal.com]

Thanks! You're a veritable tech godess, and I bow to you. ^_^

[eponymous.livejournal.com]

Anytime. :)