Cheetah templates overriding

Cheetah is a very good templating language, especially because it’s the one (correct me if i’m wrong) to apply the Object-Oriented model to Documents. It can seem a bit weird at the beginning but when you get used to it, you can’t live without it :-)

So, i was looking for a good way to overload template parts without pain, here is how (couldn’t find the trick on Cheetah doc):

1. Assume you have a template Package/Page.tmpl like that:

   #def footer
     This is my foot !
   #end def
   

2. Create a Page_custom.tmpl template:

   #extends Package.Page
   
   #def footer
     $Page.footer($self) Where's my mind ? (dixit the Pixies)
   #end def
   

3. You need to put a self variable in the template’s searchList which is the Cheetah template instance itself :-)

I don’t think that trick will work if you don’t compile your templates to Python code.