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perltemplate-toolkit

Using Perl's Template.pm, how can I select a random element from an array and output it?

Suppose I have the following in my template:

[%- pages = [ 'one', 'two', 'three' ] -%]

<p>Go to page [%- ... -%]</p>

Assuming EVAL_PERL is not set (i.e., I cannot use a [%- PERL -%] block), what do I need to put inside the [%- ... -%] above so as to get the following output?

<p>Go to page "a randomly picked element of pages"</p>
Solution

  • There isn't any support for rand by default in Template, so you have to either import it via some other code (like Slash) or use Template::Plugin::Math, e.g.:

    [%- USE Math -%]

[%- pages = [ 'one', 'two', 'three' ] -%]

<p>Go to page [%- pages.${ Math.rand(pages.size) } -%]</p>

    Output:

    $ tpage test.html

    <p>Go to page three</p>