Using Django view variables inside templates

Question

Hi, this is a rather basic question (I'm new to Django) but I'm having trouble using a variable set in my view inside my template. If I initialize a string or list inside my view (i.e. h = "hello") and then attempt to call it inside a template:
{{ h }}
there is neither output nor errors. Similarly, if I try to use a variable inside my template that doesn't exist:

{{ asdfdsadf }}

there is again no error reported. Is this normal? And how can I use my variables within my templates. Thanks!

Answer 1

Yes! This is normal. Such errors in templates fail silently and this is expected in Django.

to render properly template use render_to_response('your_template.html', {'h':h}) (there is also a nasty shortcut render_to_response('your_template.html', locals()) if your context dictionary is very big)

here is some explanation with examples: http://www.djangobook.com/en/beta/chapter04/ (section 'How invalid variables are handled')

Answer 2

In order to have access to a variable in a template, it needs to be in the the context used to render that template. My guess is you aren't passing a context dictionary to the template when you render it.

http://docs.djangoproject.com/en/dev/topics/http/shortcuts/#render-to-response

The "dictionary" referenced there is a dictionary that contains all the variables you want to have available in the context. For example:

return render_to_response('your_template.html', {'h': h})

As far as the "no error" error goes... That's the default setting for an invalid template variable. You can change that in the project's settings if you'd like.

http://docs.djangoproject.com/en/dev/ref/settings/#template-string-if-invalid