NAME

       Excel::Template::Plus - An extension to the Excel::Template module

SYNOPSIS

         use Excel::Template::Plus;

         my $template = Excel::Template::Plus->new(
             engine   => 'TT',
             template => 'greeting.tmpl',
             config   => { INCLUDE  => [ '/templates' ] },
             params   => { greeting => 'Hello' }
         );

         $template->param(location => 'World');

         $template->write_file('greeting.xls');

DISCLAIMER

       This is the very first release of this module, it is an idea that I and Rob Kinyon (the
       author of Excel::Template) had discussed many times, but never got around to doing. This
       is the first attempt at bring this to reality, it may change radically as it evolves, so
       be warned.

DESCRIPTION

       This module is an extension of the Excel::Template module, which allows the user to use
       various "engines" from which you can create Excel files through Excel::Template.

       The idea is to use the existing (and very solid) excel file generation code in
       Excel::Template, but to extend its more templatey bits with more powerful options.

       The only engine currently provided is the Template Toolkit engine, which replaces
       Excel::Template's built in template features (the LOOP, and IF constructs) with the full
       power of TT. This is similar to the module Excel::Template::TT, but expands on that even
       further to try and create a more extensive system.

       You can use this module to create Excel::Template-compatible XML files using one of the
       supported engines. For example, with the TT engine you could create a Excel::Template XML
       file like:

         <workbook>
           <worksheet name="[% worksheet_name %]">
            [% my_cols = get_list_of_columns %]
             <row>
            [% FOR col = my_cols %]
              <bold><cell>[% col %]</cell></bold>
            [% END %]
             </row>
            [% FOR my_row = get_list_of_objects %]
             <row>
                [% FOR col = my_cols %]
                 <cell>[% my_row.$col %]</cell>
                [% END %]
             </row>
            [% END %]
           </worksheet>
         </workbook>

       Your TT template thus creates a XML file suitable to handing over to Excel::Template for
       processing. Excel::Template::Plus simplifies the template-creation and handing-over
       process.

       Future engine/plans include:

       Pure Perl
           This would allow you to write you Excel::Template files using Perl itself which would
           then output the XML for Excel::Template to consume. This would be modeled after the
           recently released Template::Declare module perhaps.

       TT Plugins/Macros/Wrappers
           This is basically anything which will make the TT engine easier to write templates
           for. I have experimented with some of these things, but I was not happy with any of
           them enough to release them yet.

       HTML::Template
           Excel::Template's templating features are based on HTML::Template, but the
           HTML::Template plugins and other goodies are not compatible. This engine would bring
           those things to Excel::Template.

METHODS

       new (%options)
           This method basically serves as a factory for creating new engine instances (for which
           Excel::Template::Plus::TT is the only one currently). The only parameter that it
           requires is engine, all other parameters are passed onto the engine's constructor (see
           the individual docs for more details on what is required).

       meta
           Access to the metaclass.

BUGS

       All complex software has bugs lurking in it, and this module is no exception. If you find
       a bug please either email me, or add the bug to cpan-RT.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

       This module came out of several discussions I had with Rob Kinyon.

AUTHOR

       Stevan Little <stevan@iinteractive.com>

COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE

       Copyright 2007-2010 by Infinity Interactive, Inc.

       <http://www.iinteractive.com>

       This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same
       terms as Perl itself.