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Deprecation of VBScript/JScript templating

The VBScript/JScript templating framework, which interacts with the deprecated TOM API, is deprecated in favor of the .NET-based Modular Templating framework which interacts with the new TOM.NET API.

The Modular Templating framework was designed to replace the VBScript Templating Framework. Modular Templating helps you to debug, reuse templating features, and separate concerns by accepting C# fragments, .NET assemblies and Dreamweaver Templates as the building blocks of its templates. Migration to Modular Templating entails becoming familiar with its functionality, its client application called Template Builder, and its API, and turning your VBScript templates into Modular Templates.

To learn what the Modular Templating framework is and how you interact with it, consult the documentation for Templating in the documentation portal, located in the section "Implementing Content Manager extension points". This section of the portal not only explains the concepts and principles behind Modular Templating, it also offers a reference for the template expression language, explains the client application called Template Builder, and explains how to debug your templating code.

Performing the actual migration involves reimplementing the business logic of your VBScript templates into modular templates. The size of this task depends on how many templates your implementation contains and what they do. To help you with your migration, SDL Web ships with a number of default Template Building Blocks for typical tasks, as well as with a sample Page Template and Component Template.

Note that the Modular Templating framework is read-only; you can no longer write information to Content Manager from a template.

Also, new Publications created in the Content Manager no longer contain a Default Component Template, Default Page Template and Default Template Building Block, written in VBScript, in the Building Blocks folder. Instead, a new Publication contains a Folder Building Blocks\Default Templates\, containing a minimal set of the default modular templating items that SDL Web ships with.

For existing Publications, however, neither the Folder nor the items are added during upgrade. This is because such actions could create a conflict. As a result, if you intend to start using modular templating in an existing Publication, you must first create these default items from Template Builder.