Merging the template with the data-model
As you might already know, data-model + template = output. We already have a data-model (root
) and a template (temp
), so to get the output we have to merge them. This is done by the process
method of the template. It takes the data-model root and a Writer
as parameters. It writes the produced output to the Writer
. For the sake of simplicity here I write to the standard output:
Writer out = new OutputStreamWriter(System.out); temp.process(root, out);
This will print to your terminal the output you have seen in the first example of the Template Author's Guide.
Java I/O related notes: Depending on what out
is, you may need to ensure that out.close()
is called. This is typically needed when out
writes into a file that was opened to store the output of the template. In other times, like in typical Web applications, you must not close out
. FreeMarker calls out.flush()
after a successful template execution (but tis can be disabled in Configuration
), so you don't need to worry about that.
Note that once you have obtained a Template
instance, you can merge it with different data-models for unlimited times (Template
instances are stateless). Also, the test.ftlh
file is accessed only while the Template
instance is created, not when you call the process method.