Variables assigned from PHP

Variables assigned from PHP are referenced by preceding them with a dollar ($) sign.

Examples

<?php
use Smarty\Smarty;
$smarty = new Smarty();

$smarty->assign('firstname', 'Doug');
$smarty->assign('lastname', 'Evans');
$smarty->assign('meetingPlace', 'New York');

$smarty->display('index.tpl');

index.tpl source:

Hello {$firstname} {$lastname}, glad to see you can make it.
<br />
{* this will not work as $variables are case sensitive *}
This weeks meeting is in {$meetingplace}.
{* this will work *}
This weeks meeting is in {$meetingPlace}.

This above would output:

Hello Doug Evans, glad to see you can make it.
<br />
This weeks meeting is in .
This weeks meeting is in New York.

Associative arrays

You can also reference associative array variables by specifying the key after a dot "." symbol.

<?php
$smarty->assign('Contacts',
    array('fax' => '555-222-9876',
          'email' => 'zaphod@slartibartfast.example.com',
          'phone' => array('home' => '555-444-3333',
                           'cell' => '555-111-1234')
                           )
         );
$smarty->display('index.tpl');

index.tpl source:

{$Contacts.fax}<br />
{$Contacts.email}<br />
{* you can print arrays of arrays as well *}
{$Contacts.phone.home}<br />
{$Contacts.phone.cell}<br />

this will output:

555-222-9876<br />
zaphod@slartibartfast.example.com<br />
555-444-3333<br />
555-111-1234<br />

Array indexes

You can reference arrays by their index, much like native PHP syntax.

<?php
$smarty->assign('Contacts', array(
                           '555-222-9876',
                           'zaphod@slartibartfast.example.com',
                            array('555-444-3333',
                                  '555-111-1234')
                            ));
$smarty->display('index.tpl');

index.tpl source:

{$Contacts[0]}<br />
{$Contacts[1]}<br />
{* you can print arrays of arrays as well *}
{$Contacts[2][0]}<br />
{$Contacts[2][1]}<br />

This will output:

555-222-9876<br />
zaphod@slartibartfast.example.com<br />
555-444-3333<br />
555-111-1234<br />

Objects

Properties of objects assigned from PHP can be referenced by specifying the property name after the -> symbol.

name:  {$person->name}<br />
email: {$person->email}<br />

this will output:

name:  Zaphod Beeblebrox<br />
email: zaphod@slartibartfast.example.com<br />

Backed Enums (PHP 8.1+)

Smarty supports accessing properties of backed enums introduced in PHP 8.1.

Accessing Enum Properties

You can access the name and value properties of backed enum cases:

{* Access enum case properties *}
<option id="{MyEnum::Foo->name}">{MyEnum::Foo->value}</option>

Complete Example

<?php
use Smarty\Smarty;

// Define a backed enum
enum Status: string {
    case Active = 'active';
    case Inactive = 'inactive';
    case Pending = 'pending';
}

$smarty = new Smarty();
$smarty->assign('currentStatus', Status::Active);
$smarty->display('template.tpl');

template.tpl:

{* Display enum properties *}
Current status: {$currentStatus->name} (value: {$currentStatus->value})

{* Use in HTML attributes *}
<select name="status">
    <option value="{Status::Active->value}" {if $currentStatus->name === 'Active'}selected{/if}>Active</option>
    <option value="{Status::Inactive->value}" {if $currentStatus->name === 'Inactive'}selected{/if}>Inactive</option>
    <option value="{Status::Pending->value}" {if $currentStatus->name === 'Pending'}selected{/if}>Pending</option>
</select>

This would output:

Current status: Active (value: active)

<select name="status">
    <option value="active" selected>Active</option>
    <option value="inactive">Inactive</option>
    <option value="pending">Pending</option>
</select>

Integer-backed Enums

Integer-backed enums work the same way:

<?php
enum Priority: int {
    case Low = 1;
    case Medium = 2; 
    case High = 3;
}

$smarty->assign('priority', Priority::High);

{* Access integer enum properties *}
Priority level: {$priority->value} ({$priority->name})

Output:

Priority level: 3 (High)

Note: Backed enum support requires PHP 8.1 or higher. The enum must be registered or available in the current namespace.