176 lines
7.8 KiB
Markdown
176 lines
7.8 KiB
Markdown
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# Interpolation and template expressions
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Interpolation allows you to incorporate calculated strings into the text
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between HTML element tags and within attribute assignments. Template
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expressions are what you use to calculate those strings.
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<div class="alert is-helpful">
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See the <live-example></live-example> for all of
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the syntax and code snippets in this guide.
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</div>
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## Interpolation `{{...}}`
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Interpolation refers to embedding expressions into marked up text.
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By default, interpolation uses as its delimiter the double curly braces, `{{` and `}}`.
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In the following snippet, `{{ currentCustomer }}` is an example of interpolation.
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<code-example path="interpolation/src/app/app.component.html" region="interpolation-example1" header="src/app/app.component.html"></code-example>
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The text between the braces is often the name of a component
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property. Angular replaces that name with the
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string value of the corresponding component property.
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<code-example path="interpolation/src/app/app.component.html" region="component-property" header="src/app/app.component.html"></code-example>
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In the example above, Angular evaluates the `title` and `itemImageUrl` properties
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and fills in the blanks, first displaying some title text and then an image.
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More generally, the text between the braces is a **template expression**
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that Angular first **evaluates** and then **converts to a string**.
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The following interpolation illustrates the point by adding two numbers:
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<code-example path="interpolation/src/app/app.component.html" region="convert-string" header="src/app/app.component.html"></code-example>
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The expression can invoke methods of the host component such as `getVal()` in
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the following example:
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<code-example path="interpolation/src/app/app.component.html" region="invoke-method" header="src/app/app.component.html"></code-example>
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Angular evaluates all expressions in double curly braces,
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converts the expression results to strings, and links them with neighboring literal strings. Finally,
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it assigns this composite interpolated result to an **element or directive property**.
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You appear to be inserting the result between element tags and assigning it to attributes.
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However, interpolation is a special syntax that Angular converts into a *property binding*.
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<div class="alert is-helpful">
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If you'd like to use something other than `{{` and `}}`, you can
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configure the interpolation delimiter via the
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[interpolation](api/core/Component#interpolation)
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option in the `Component` metadata.
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</div>
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## Template expressions
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A template **expression** produces a value and appears within the double
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curly braces, `{{ }}`.
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Angular executes the expression and assigns it to a property of a binding target;
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the target could be an HTML element, a component, or a directive.
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The interpolation braces in `{{1 + 1}}` surround the template expression `1 + 1`.
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In the property binding,
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a template expression appears in quotes to the right of the `=` symbol as in `[property]="expression"`.
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In terms of syntax, template expressions are similar to JavaScript.
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Many JavaScript expressions are legal template expressions, with a few exceptions.
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You can't use JavaScript expressions that have or promote side effects,
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including:
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* Assignments (`=`, `+=`, `-=`, `...`)
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* Operators such as `new`, `typeof`, `instanceof`, etc.
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* Chaining expressions with <code>;</code> or <code>,</code>
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* The increment and decrement operators `++` and `--`
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* Some of the ES2015+ operators
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Other notable differences from JavaScript syntax include:
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* No support for the bitwise operators such as `|` and `&`
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* New [template expression operators](guide/template-expression-operators), such as `|`, `?.` and `!`
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## Expression context
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The *expression context* is typically the _component_ instance.
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In the following snippets, the `recommended` within double curly braces and the
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`itemImageUrl2` in quotes refer to properties of the `AppComponent`.
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<code-example path="interpolation/src/app/app.component.html" region="component-context" header="src/app/app.component.html"></code-example>
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An expression may also refer to properties of the _template's_ context
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such as a template input variable,
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<!-- link to built-in-directives#template-input-variables -->
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`let customer`, or a template reference variable, `#customerInput`.
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<!-- link to guide/template-ref-variables -->
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<code-example path="interpolation/src/app/app.component.html" region="template-input-variable" header="src/app/app.component.html (template input variable)"></code-example>
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<code-example path="interpolation/src/app/app.component.html" region="template-reference-variable" header="src/app/app.component.html (template reference variable)"></code-example>
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The context for terms in an expression is a blend of the _template variables_,
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the directive's _context_ object (if it has one), and the component's _members_.
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If you reference a name that belongs to more than one of these namespaces,
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the template variable name takes precedence, followed by a name in the directive's _context_,
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and, lastly, the component's member names.
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The previous example presents such a name collision. The component has a `customer`
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property and the `*ngFor` defines a `customer` template variable.
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<div class="alert is-helpful">
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The `customer` in `{{customer.name}}`
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refers to the template input variable, not the component's property.
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Template expressions cannot refer to anything in
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the global namespace, except `undefined`. They can't refer to
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`window` or `document`. Additionally, they
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can't call `console.log()` or `Math.max()` and they are restricted to referencing
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members of the expression context.
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</div>
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## Expression guidelines
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When using template expressions follow these guidelines:
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* [Simplicity](guide/interpolation#simplicity)
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* [Quick execution](guide/interpolation#quick-execution)
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* [No visible side effects](guide/interpolation#no-visible-side-effects)
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### Simplicity
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Although it's possible to write complex template expressions, it's a better
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practice to avoid them.
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A property name or method call should be the norm, but an occasional Boolean negation, `!`, is OK.
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Otherwise, confine application and business logic to the component,
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where it is easier to develop and test.
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### Quick execution
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Angular executes template expressions after every change detection cycle.
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Change detection cycles are triggered by many asynchronous activities such as
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promise resolutions, HTTP results, timer events, key presses and mouse moves.
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Expressions should finish quickly or the user experience may drag, especially on slower devices.
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Consider caching values when their computation is expensive.
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### No visible side effects
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A template expression should not change any application state other than the value of the
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target property.
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This rule is essential to Angular's "unidirectional data flow" policy.
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You should never worry that reading a component value might change some other displayed value.
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The view should be stable throughout a single rendering pass.
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An [idempotent](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idempotence) expression is ideal because
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it is free of side effects and improves Angular's change detection performance.
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In Angular terms, an idempotent expression always returns
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*exactly the same thing* until one of its dependent values changes.
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Dependent values should not change during a single turn of the event loop.
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If an idempotent expression returns a string or a number, it returns the same string or number when called twice in a row. If the expression returns an object, including an `array`, it returns the same object *reference* when called twice in a row.
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<div class="alert is-helpful">
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There is one exception to this behavior that applies to `*ngFor`. `*ngFor` has `trackBy` functionality that can deal with referential inequality of objects when iterating over them. See [*ngFor with `trackBy`](guide/built-in-directives #ngfor-with-trackby) for details.
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</div>
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