# Separating webserver/app code and site templates **URL:** \ **Category:** Questions & Answers\ **Tags:** web-server\ **Created:** [December 3, 2022, 9:20pm UTC](https://racket.discourse.group/t/separating-webserver-app-code-and-site-templates/1529 "2022-12-03T21:20:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![steveivy](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/racket.discourse.group/steveivy/32/883_2.png) [@steveivy](https://racket.discourse.group/u/steveivy)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2022, 9:20pm UTC](https://racket.discourse.group/t/separating-webserver-app-code-and-site-templates/1529/1 "2022-12-03T21:20:02Z")
[Background - I'm porting my golang blog app to racket, and figuring it out as I go] I've been working through the web-server-lib docs and learning to use `include-template`. In my existing app, the installation of the blog software is separate from the templates, content, and other assets for a specific site. I did some work to configure the site-base and relative template and posts paths, but found that `include-template` will not read the template, but fails with "bad relative pathname string". After some frustrating RTFMing I found that all the variants of `include*` in racket expect a _`path-spec`_ that is only a relative path: > That is, _`string`_ refers to a file using a platform-independent relative path A jump to Github led me to [the actual code](https://github.com/racket/racket/blob/448b77a6629c68659e1360fbe9f9e1ecea078f9c/racket/collects/syntax/path-spec.rkt#L12): ```racket (unless (module-path? s) (raise-syntax-error #f "bad relative pathname string" stx fn)) ``` I didn't read up on `module-path?` yet but I assume it keeps to things under the module file system structure. I can imagine this is a security feature since `include-template` derives (not in the technical sense) from the same code that is used for `require`, ie trying to avoid a malicious program from `include`-ing `/etc/passwd` for example. This leaves me with the question: is there a way to integrate with `web-server/templates` where I read the files myself and add them to some namespace so that they can be included (including in sub-templates) or am I trying to do something 1) bad 2) stupid 3) both? I _really_ don't want to embed the entire look and feel of a site into the racket application? --Steve ---
**Author:** ![steveivy](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/racket.discourse.group/steveivy/32/883_2.png) [@steveivy](https://racket.discourse.group/u/steveivy)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2022, 1:20am UTC](https://racket.discourse.group/t/separating-webserver-app-code-and-site-templates/1529/2 "2022-12-04T01:20:15Z")
After a lot more research realized this was way more complicated than I needed, and I'm looking now at just copying the templates to a "nearby" tmp directory that can be required from (hoping it works) ---
**Author:** ![greghendershott](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/racket.discourse.group/greghendershott/32/98_2.png) [@greghendershott](https://racket.discourse.group/u/greghendershott)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2022, 2:19pm UTC](https://racket.discourse.group/t/separating-webserver-app-code-and-site-templates/1529/3 "2022-12-04T14:19:57Z")
Keep in mind that, in using `include-template` from `web-server/templates`, you're effectively running a program written in `#lang scribble/text`, IIRC. As for the relative paths, probably you need to set `current-load-relative-directory` to the directory containing the template. Then use the relative file names in the requires. Also, to access certain variables within the template -- e.g. `@contents` or `@title` and so on, which is kind of the whole point of a template approach -- then you need to: - create a namespace - attach/require some other modules into that - make a form that introduces your own variable bindings and calls `include-template` - `eval` that form in that namespace (and with the load-relative directory set). I found this confusing when I did it many years agoo, for my now-dormant blog app, Frog. I got some help on the old mailing list, and cargo-culted some things. I barely understood how/why it worked, years ago, much less today. Having said that, you're welcome to scrounge my old code. See [template.rkt](https://github.com/greghendershott/frog/blob/master/frog/private/template.rkt), which provides a wrapper for `include-template` -- a `render-template` function. It takes a directory, a template file path, and a dictionary of variables/values to be used within the template. It returns the HTML text. Search other files for some example uses of `render-template`. ---
**Author:** ![steveivy](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/racket.discourse.group/steveivy/32/883_2.png) [@steveivy](https://racket.discourse.group/u/steveivy)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2022, 6:34pm UTC](https://racket.discourse.group/t/separating-webserver-app-code-and-site-templates/1529/4 "2022-12-04T18:34:14Z")
Hi Greg! I actually found Frog and have been trolling through the code for a few days! Thanks! I do need to revisit your template code, I didn't understand it at all when I started, but I've been deep in racket's include code recently so hopefully it will make more sense. ---
**Author:** ![steveivy](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/racket.discourse.group/steveivy/32/883_2.png) [@steveivy](https://racket.discourse.group/u/steveivy)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2022, 6:47pm UTC](https://racket.discourse.group/t/separating-webserver-app-code-and-site-templates/1529/5 "2022-12-04T18:47:28Z")
Question @greghendershott -- I understand that templates are their own "lang" (scribble/text) but is there a performance hit or something? Your "keep in mind" felt a bit like a "beware" 😃 ---
**Author:** ![greghendershott](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/racket.discourse.group/greghendershott/32/98_2.png) [@greghendershott](https://racket.discourse.group/u/greghendershott)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2022, 12:01am UTC](https://racket.discourse.group/t/separating-webserver-app-code-and-site-templates/1529/6 "2022-12-05T00:01:40Z")
> [@steveivy](#): > > is there a performance hit or something? Your "keep in mind" felt a bit like a "beware" Not re performance. Just in terms of how to use `include-template`. Using the template is effectively like running an end user program, and you need to be aware of things like namespaces and load-directories, which you wouldn't with a "normal" function call. Also the use of `eval`, which is usually a smell, is IIUC fine here.