PHP Jinja vs Python Jinja2 Comparison

This document provides a comparison between PHP Jinja implementation and Python's Jinja2 template engine.

Feature	PHP Jinja	Python Jinja2
Basic Syntax
Variable output {{ var }}	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Comments {# comment #}	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Control tags {% tag %}	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Variables & Expressions
Simple variables	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Dot notation (user.name)	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Bracket notation (user['name'])	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Mixed notation (user.items[0].name)	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Math operations	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
String concatenation (~)	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Boolean operations	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Comparison operators	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Control Structures
If/elif/else/endif	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
For loops	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
For loop else clause	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Loop variables (index, first, last, etc.)	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Loop controls (break, continue)	❌ No	✅ Yes
Nested loops	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Whitespace control ({%- and -%})	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Filters
Built-in filters	✅ Limited set	✅ Extensive set
Chaining filters	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Custom filters	❌ No	✅ Yes
Template Structure
Template inheritance (extends)	❌ No	✅ Yes
Block definitions	❌ No	✅ Yes
Include other templates	❌ No	✅ Yes
Macros	❌ No	✅ Yes
Handling Undefined Variables
Strict mode	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Debug mode	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Default value mode	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Custom undefined handlers	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Loading Templates
String templates	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
File system loading	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Custom loaders	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Advanced Features
Template caching	❌ No	✅ Yes
Tests (is defined, is even, etc.)	❌ No	✅ Yes
Context functions	❌ No	✅ Yes
Customizing syntax	❌ No	✅ Yes
Sandboxing	❌ No	✅ Yes
Auto-escaping	❌ No	✅ Yes
Set variables within templates	❌ No	✅ Yes
Raw/verbatim blocks	❌ No	✅ Yes