Note: This is not a perfect solution, because you have to 'hack' a kernel file. If there's anyone out there who knows a way to include PHP files in templates, please post it

Many of you programmers out there want to use PHP in your templates. I've come up with a solution that might fit your needs.
I've written a simple function that does what I needed: I wanted to include php files in my templates, so I could use a hitcounter, banner/ad system, etc.
The insert function (you can put it somewhere in ezTemplateAutoLoad.php, which is located under /kernel/common/):

function marksPHPinsert ($file)

{

$file = fopen ($file, "r" );

while (!feof ($file))

{

$output .= fgets ($file, 4096);

}

fclose ($file);

return ($output);

}

Edit ezTemplateAutoLoad.php some more (line 69, at least that was the line number I had to 'use'). You should see something like this:

Note: The script below is used with version 3.1 of ezPublish

$eZTemplateOperatorArray[] = array( 'script' => 

'lib/eztemplate/classes/eztemplatephpoperator.php',

'class' => 'eZTemplatePHPOperator',

'class_parameter' => array( 'upcase' => 'strtoupper',

'downcase' => 'strtolower',

'reverse' => 'strrev',

'nl2br' => 'nl2br',

'ucfirst' => 'ucfirst',

'marksPHPinsert' => 'marksPHPinsert'),

'operator_names' => array( 'upcase', 'downcase', 'reverse', 'nl2br', 'ucfirst', 'marksPHPinsert' ) );

As you can see, I added a word (marksPHPinsert). In class_parameter I added the line 'marksPHPinsert' => 'marksPHPinsert'; Whenever 'marksPHPinsert' is used in your templates, it will refer to the insert function.
In operator_name you have to add 'insert' too, else it will not work. Operator_names contains the functions that can really be used in your templates.

Note: The script below is used with version 3.2 and 3.3 of ezPublish

include ("marksPHPfunctions.inc.php");

$eZTemplateOperatorArray[] = array( 'script' => 'lib/eztemplate/classes/eztemplatephpoperator.php',

                                   'class' => 'eZTemplatePHPOperator',

                                   'class_parameter' => array('marksPHPinsert' => 'marksPHPinsert'),

                                   'operator_names' => array( 'marksPHPinsert'));

As you can see, I include a file called 'marksPHPfunction.inc.php'. This file is located under '/kernel/common/'. You should put all your functions in a file (not a kernel file!!), otherwise your kernel files will all be messed up.
Try to always keep your kernel files clean. This way you do not have to change much if you upgrade to another version.

Note: For those who have the latest development version you can simply edit template.ini and add the following line in the group PHP

PHPOperatorList[marksPHPinsert]=marksPHPinsert

Well, we've come to the part that you want to use the function. Simply put the following line in your template:

{"http://www.mydomain.com/myfile.php"|marksPHPinsert}

The path to the file you wish to include must be a url (http://www.mydomain.com/myfile.php) instead of a local path (e.g. /local/path/to/file.php), because the local file will not be parsed. It will just show unparsed php code (of course).

This is it. Hope this is of some use to you.If you have any questions or comments, you can post them here.

Good luck, Mark Overduin