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Python: Myghty vs. Django templates

It came out today on the Genshi mailing list that Myghty performs far better than Django templates.

I personally think that the productivity improvements afforded by Genshi by things such as its match mechanism and the fact that you don't have to worry about XSS attacks fully compensate for any loss in performance.

However, I'd like to say something specifically about Myghty vs. Django templates. Both are good software. Both have friendly authors. I personally think in this case the performance issue is a red herring. If you can't trust your template authors to run with scissors, you should not use Myghty. If your template authors know the difference between a function and a dict, you shouldn't use Django templates.

I think that what the Django guys did makes a lot of sense for their situation, but using Django templates drives someone like me crazy. I like to create functions (containing re-useable bits of HTML) within my templates. I don't like repeating myself, even in HTML. Nor are custom tags a simple alternative. In stark contrast, Myghty's Component-Call-With-Content Arguments is frickin' awesome!

Ok, no religious wars. I really think you should just use the right tool for the right job!

Comments

Ian Bicking said…
Well, there is some room for wars -- the Myghty component-call-with stuff could certainly translate into Django. OTOH, Genshi match stuff wouldn't.
12:12 PM
X said…
"If your template authors know the difference between a function and a dict, you shouldn't use Django templates."

You can recognize good design by the inanity of its detractors.
1:16 PM
Anonymous said…
"I like to create functions (containing re-useable bits of HTML) within my templates. "

I had some trouble with this in Django, but then I found inclusion tags: http://www.djangoproject.com/documentation/templates_python/#inclusion-tags
3:59 PM
Anonymous said…
I should have used the anchor tag. Here's the link again.
4:00 PM
jjinux said…
> You can recognize good design by the inanity of its detractors.

Ah, come on, laugh! I was trying to be funny!
4:05 PM
jjinux said…
> I had some trouble with this in Django, but then I found inclusion tags:

This is hardly as useful or as easy to use as functions in Genshi, Cheetah, or Myghty.
4:06 PM
Anonymous said…
I'm glad you've found something that's working for you. That's awesome! I agree, for truely complex templating the built in django templates can be a little weak. Perhaps someone should write a libary of custom tags made specifically for doing harder stuff as the django guys don't seem interested in complicating it. Just a thought. Still, the built-in templates are doing fine for me for now. I think there's been a lot of fuss about django templates with little good reason. They are simply a matter of taste and of the project that you're working on.
10:10 AM
jjinux said…
> I'm glad you've found something that's
> working for you...

I agree with all of your comment.
2:35 PM
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