pad

PAD Functions Reference

This document provides a complete reference for all PAD pipe functions.

Usage

Pipe functions transform values using the | operator. They always require {echo}:

{echo $name | upper}              # Correct - uppercase
{echo $text | trim | lower}       # Chained functions
{echo $date | date('Y-m-d')}      # With parameters

{$name | upper}                   # WRONG - bare expression won't work!

Multiple functions can be chained:

{echo $name | trim | upper | left(10)}

String Extraction (Delimiter-Based)

Functions that extract parts of a string based on a delimiter.

Function	Parameters	Description
`after`	delimiter	Returns everything after the first occurrence of delimiter
`afterLast`	delimiter	Returns everything after the last occurrence of delimiter
`before`	delimiter	Returns everything before the first occurrence of delimiter
`beforeLast`	delimiter	Returns everything before the last occurrence of delimiter

Examples

{'hello/world/test' | after('/')}       → 'world/test'
{'hello/world/test' | afterLast('/')}   → 'test'
{'hello/world/test' | before('/')}      → 'hello'
{'hello/world/test' | beforeLast('/')}  → 'hello/world'

Substring Operations

Functions that extract substrings by position.

Function	Parameters	Description
`substr`	start [, length]	PHP `substr()` - extract substring from position
`left`	count	Returns the first N characters
`right`	count	Returns the last N characters
`mid`	start, length	Returns substring starting at position (1-based index)

Examples

{'Hello World' | left(5)}        → 'Hello'
{'Hello World' | right(5)}       → 'World'
{'Hello World' | mid(7, 5)}      → 'World'
{'Hello World' | substr(6)}      → 'World'
{'Hello World' | substr(0, 5)}   → 'Hello'

Case Conversion

Functions that change the case of text.

Function	Parameters	Description
`upper`	-	Converts to uppercase (PHP `strtoupper`)
`lower`	-	Converts to lowercase (PHP `strtolower`)
`capitalize`	-	Capitalizes first letter of each word (PHP `ucwords`)
`ucwords`	-	Alias for `capitalize`

Examples

{'hello world' | upper}       → 'HELLO WORLD'
{'HELLO WORLD' | lower}       → 'hello world'
{'hello world' | capitalize}  → 'Hello World'

String Manipulation

Functions that modify string content.

Function	Parameters	Description
`trim`	-	Removes whitespace from both ends (PHP `trim`)
`replace`	search, replace	Replaces all occurrences of search with replace
`cut`	text	Removes all occurrences of text (replace with empty)
`white`	-	Normalizes whitespace - collapses multiple spaces to single space

Examples

{'  hello  ' | trim}                   → 'hello'
{'hello world' | replace('world', 'there')}  → 'hello there'
{'hello world' | cut('o')}             → 'hell wrld'
{'hello   world' | white}              → 'hello world'

HTML & Encoding

Functions for encoding and escaping text for various contexts.

Function	Parameters	Description
`html`	-	Escapes HTML special characters (PHP `htmlspecialchars`)
`sanitize`	-	Full special character sanitization (FILTER_SANITIZE_FULL_SPECIAL_CHARS)
`url`	-	URL-encodes the value (PHP `urlencode`)
`slashes`	-	Adds backslashes before quotes (PHP `addslashes`)
`stripslashes`	-	Removes backslashes (PHP `stripslashes`)
`encodeHigh`	-	Encodes high ASCII characters (>127)
`stripLow`	-	Strips low ASCII control characters

Examples

{'<script>' | html}         → '&lt;script&gt;'
{'hello world' | url}       → 'hello%20world'
{"it's here" | slashes}     → "it\'s here"

HTML Formatting

Functions that add HTML formatting to text.

Function	Parameters	Description
`bold`	-	Wraps value in `<b>` tags
`nbsp`	-	Replaces spaces with ` `

Examples

{'important' | bold}      → '<b>important</b>'
{'hello world' | nbsp}    → 'hello&nbsp;world'

Length Control

Functions that limit or control string length.

Function	Parameters	Description
`max_len`	length	Truncates string to maximum length

Examples

{'Hello World' | max_len(5)}  → 'Hello'
{'Hi' | max_len(5)}           → 'Hi'

Testing & Conditions

Functions that test values and return boolean results (returns '1' for true, '' for false).

Function	Parameters	Description
`contains`	needle	Returns TRUE if value contains the needle string
`in`	values…	Returns `'1'` if value is in the list of parameters
`like`	pattern	SQL LIKE pattern matching (`%` = any chars, `_` = single char)
`between`	min, max	Returns TRUE if value is exclusively between min and max
`range`	min, max	Returns TRUE if value is inclusively in range (min <= value <= max)
`exists`	-	Returns `'1'` if file exists in APP directory, `'0'` otherwise

Examples

{'hello world' | contains('world')}  → TRUE
{$status | in('active', 'pending')}  → '1' or ''
{'test.txt' | like('%.txt')}         → '1'
{$age | between(17, 66)}             → TRUE if 17 < age < 66
{$score | range(0, 100)}             → TRUE if 0 <= score <= 100
{'templates/page.php' | exists}      → '1' or '0'

Like Pattern Syntax

The like function supports SQL-style wildcards:

Pattern	Meaning
`%`	Matches any sequence of characters
`_`	Matches any single character
`\%`	Literal percent sign
`\_`	Literal underscore
`\\`	Literal backslash

{'filename.txt' | like('%.txt')}      → '1'
{'test123' | like('test___')}         → '1'
{'100%' | like('%\%')}                → '1'

Date & Time

Functions for working with dates and timestamps.

Function	Parameters	Description
`now`	-	Returns current Unix timestamp
`date`	[format [, modifier]]	Formats a timestamp using PHP date format
`time`	[format [, modifier]]	Alias for `date`
`timestamp`	[format [, modifier]]	Alias for `date`

Date Parameters

No parameters: Uses $padFmtDate global format
One parameter: Uses provided format string
Two parameters: Format + strtotime modifier (e.g., ‘+1 day’)

Examples

{now}                              → current timestamp (e.g., 1702483200)
{now | date}                       → formatted with default format
{now | date('Y-m-d')}              → '2024-12-13'
{now | date('Y-m-d', '+1 week')}   → '2024-12-20'
{$timestamp | time('H:i:s')}       → '14:30:00'

Date Format Characters

Char	Description	Example
`Y`	4-digit year	2025
`m`	Month (01-12)	03
`d`	Day (01-31)	15
`H`	Hour (00-23)	14
`i`	Minutes (00-59)	30
`s`	Seconds (00-59)	45
`D`	Day name (short)	Mon
`l`	Day name (full)	Monday
`M`	Month name (short)	Mar
`F`	Month name (full)	March

Arithmetic

Important: Arithmetic pipes require a space between the operator and operand!

Function	Description	Example
`+ n`	Add	`{echo $value \\| + 1}`
`- n`	Subtract	`{echo $value \\| - 5}`
`* n`	Multiply	`{echo $value \\| * 2}`
`/ n`	Divide	`{echo $value \\| / 4}`

{echo $value | + 1}          # Correct - adds 1
{echo $value | * 2}          # Correct - multiplies by 2
{echo $value | +1}           # WRONG - no space!

Printf-style Format

Use printf format specifiers for number formatting:

{echo $nbr | %.5f}          # 5 decimal places: 3.14159
{echo $nbr | %'.09d}        # Zero-padded to 9 digits: 000000123
{echo $nbr | %d}            # Integer: 42
{echo $nbr | %x}            # Hexadecimal: 2a
{echo $nbr | %05d}          # Zero-padded to 5 digits: 00042
{echo $nbr | %+d}           # With sign: +42

Common Format Specifiers

Specifier	Description
`%d`	Integer
`%f`	Float
`%.Nf`	Float with N decimals
`%s`	String
`%x`	Hexadecimal (lowercase)
`%X`	Hexadecimal (uppercase)
`%0Nd`	Zero-padded integer
`%+d`	Signed integer

The @ Placeholder

The @ symbol represents the current value in expressions:

{echo 50 | @ * 4}                # 200 (@ = 50)
{echo $text | '"' . @ . '"'}     # Wrap value in quotes
{echo $num | @ + @ * 2}          # Triple the value

PAD Template Helpers

Functions for working with PAD template syntax.

Function	Parameters	Description
`open`	-	Wraps value in `{` and `}` to create a PAD tag
`close`	-	Wraps value in `{/` and `}` to create a closing PAD tag
`tag`	-	Alias for `open`
`optional`	-	Returns value or empty string if null (null coalescing)

Examples

{'myTag' | open}      → '{myTag}'
{'myTag' | close}     → '{/myTag}'
{$maybeNull | optional}  → value or ''

Function Summary by Category

String Extraction

after, afterLast, before, beforeLast

Substring

substr, left, right, mid

Case

upper, lower, capitalize, ucwords

Manipulation

trim, replace, cut, white

Encoding

html, sanitize, url, slashes, stripslashes, encodeHigh, stripLow

HTML

bold, nbsp

Length

max_len

Testing

contains, in, like, between, range, exists

Date/Time

now, date, time, timestamp

Arithmetic

+, -, *, /

Printf Format

%d, %f, %.Nf, %s, %x, %X, %0Nd, %+d

PAD Helpers

open, close, tag, optional

Pipe Timing: Opening vs Closing Tags

Pipes can be applied at two different points:

Opening Tag Pipe

Processes data BEFORE the tag content is rendered:

{items | sort}
  <li>{$name}</li>
{/items}

Closing Tag Pipe

Processes output AFTER the tag finishes:

{message}
  Content: {$message}
{/message | upper}

Creating Custom Functions

Create custom functions in _functions/:

_functions/money.php:

<?php
  return '$' . number_format($padContent, 2);
?>

Use in templates:

{echo $price | money}     # $1,234.56

_functions/initials.php:

<?php
  $words = explode(' ', $padContent);
  $initials = '';
  foreach ($words as $word) {
    $initials .= strtoupper($word[0]);
  }
  return $initials;
?>

Use in templates:

{echo $name | initials}   # "John Doe" → "JD"

Available Variables

Each function file receives these variables:

Variable	Description
`$padContent`	The input value being piped
`$parm`	Array of parameters passed to the function
`$count`	Number of parameters in `$parm`

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