Templates

Templates are preformatted artifacts that contain placeholders to be replaced with data in order to produce a final document, page, or piece of code. They separate content from presentation or logic, enabling reuse, consistency, and automation. A template may be a word-processing form with fields, an email message with variables, or a code scaffold.

Common categories include document templates (letters, invoices), data templates (spreadsheets, forms), code templates (boilerplates and skeletons), and web or UI templates (HTML layouts, component shells). Using templates speeds creation, ensures uniform style, and makes wide-scale updates easier.

Software templates typically rely on template engines or languages that define how placeholders are replaced and can add conditional logic or loops. Popular examples include Mustache, Jinja, Handlebars, and EJS, though many frameworks integrate templating as a core feature.

The typical workflow is: author a template, supply data from databases or user input, and render the final content. Benefits include efficiency, accuracy, localization, and easier maintenance. Potential risks include exposing sensitive structure, data leakage, or security issues when templates execute code.

Templates have roots in document generation and software scaffolding and have grown into a common tool across publishing, IT, and web development. They underpin content management, automated report production, and CI pipelines by enabling repeatable, data-driven output.