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Merchant Solutions Integrations: RTML Version 1

RTML is the programming language that powers the building of pages in the Yahoo! Store Editor. Every object (e.g. an item or section) has an RTML template that describes what that object or page should look like. An RTML template yields ordinary HTML as its output, but with RTML you can describe complex pages that would be impossibly burdensome to express directly in HTML, either by hand or with a WYSIWYG authoring tool.

This page contains an alphabetical reference to all the available RTML operators. For more information about RTML, see the RTML Help Page on the Yahoo! Merchant Solutions web site.

RTML Operator Reference

The following table shows the RTML operators and provides a description of the function the operator performs.

Operator Description
< Returns true if the first argument is less than the second. Both must be numbers.
<= Returns true if the first argument is less than or equal to the second. Both must be numbers.
> Returns true if the first argument is greater than the second. Both must be numbers.
>= Returns true if the first argument is greater than or equal to the second. Both must be numbers.
ACTION Returns a url that will perform a certain action. The possible arguments are :email, :help, :request, :search, and :show-order.
AND Takes any number of arguments. If all return true, returns the value of the last.
AS-LIST Inserts begin and end list tags into the current page, either ol or ul depending on whether type is :ordered or :unordered respectively. See item.
BASKET Displays the visitor's shopping basket.
BLUE Returns a number between 0 and 255 representing the blue component of a color.
BODY Inserts html begin and end body tags into the current page. The arguments correspond to those of the tag.
CALL Calls another template, returning whatever value it returns, and inserting its output into the current page.
CAPS Takes a string and returns another string with the same letters in all caps.
CENTER Inserts html begin and end center tags.
COLOGO Returns an image representing the logo of the company providing this software, height pixels high.
COLOR Returns the color whose red, green and blue components are red, green, and blue respectively. These arguments should be integers between 0 and 255. For example,
COLOR red 255
green 255
blue 0
returns the color bright yellow.
COMMENT Inserts an html comment tag into the current page, containing the string given as the text.
ELEMENT Returns the element that occurs at position position in the sequence sequence. (Strings and lists are sequences.) Numbering starts at 0. For example
ELEMENT position 1
sequence "abcde"
returns the character b
ELEMENTS Returns a subsequence of the same type as sequence, consisting of its first through last elements. For example,
ELEMENTS sequence "abcde"
first 1
last 3
returns the string "bcd".
EQUALS Returns true if the first argument is the same as the second. Numbers are the same if their difference is zero. Symbols are the same if they are identical. Sequences are the same if each of their elements are the same.
EVEN Returns true if its argument is an even integer.
FIND-ONE Evaluates the expressions within the find-one expression with variable set to successive elements of sequence until the last expression returns true, whereupon that element is returned. Returns nil if no element causes the expressions to return true.
FONT Inserts html begin and end font tags into the current page. The arguments are the corresponding options to the font tag.
FONT-WIDTH Returns a number indicating how wide font is relative to Helvetica Bold.
FOR Used for iteration: variable is initially set to initial. Then test (presumably an rtml expression referring to variable) is evaluated. If it returns true, iteration stops. Otherwise the expressions within the for expression are evaluated in order, then variable is set to update (which can refer to variable), the test is evaluated, and so on.

For example, to print the numbers from 1 to 10 on the current page, you would say:
FOR variable x
initial 1
test <= value1 x
value2 10
update x + 1
 TEXT x  
FOR-EACH Evaluates the expressions within the for-each expression with variable set to successive elements of sequence. Returns a sequence of the same type, whose elements are the values returned by the last expression on each iteration. For example:
FOR-EACH variable x
  sequence "abc"
 LINEBREAK  
 TEXT x  
generates the output:
a
b
c
FOR-EACH-BUT Like for-each, but also evaluates last for every element of sequence except the last.
FOR-EACH-OBJECT Takes a list of ids of objects. (The contents field of an item or section is always such a list.) For each one, the expressions within the for-each are evaluated in order, with that object as the current object. For example,
FOR-EACH-OBJECT @contents
     TEXT @name
will print the contents of the names fields of all the objects contained in this one.
FORM Inserts html begin and end form tags into the current page. The destination will be the action of the form.
FUSE Joins images (see render) on the axis specified by axis, aligned according to align. The component images with be spacing pixels apart, with the background-color showing through the gaps. The destination is currently ignored.

Can also be used to add a border around an image, by supplying just a background-color and margins.
GRAB Within a grab, what would be written to the current page is written to a string, which is returned.
GRAYSCALE Takes a color and returns a number between 0 (black) and 255 (white) representing the equivalent grayscale color.
GREEN Returns a number between 0 and 255 representing the green component of a color.
HEAD Inserts html begin and end head tags into the current page.
HEIGHT Returns a number representing the height of its argument, which should be an image.
HEX-ENCODE Returns a string of 2-digit hex numbers representing the ascii numbers of the characters in a string.
HRULE Inserts an html hr tag into the current page. The arguments correspond to the options of the hr tag.
IF The test expression is evaluated. If it returns true, the then expression is evaluated and its value is returned. Otherwise the else expression is evaluated and its value is returned.
IMAGE Inserts source, which must be an image into the current page. (Images are created by render and fuse.) The remaining arguments correspond to the options in the html img tag.
IMAGE-REF Returns a url that will point to image alone.
INPUT Inserts an html input tag into the current page. The arguments correspond to the tag options.
ITEM Inserts an html li tag in the current page.
LENGTH Returns a number representing the number of elements in sequence, which should be either a list or a string.
LINEBREAK Inserts number html br tags into the current page. The clear argument corresponds to the clear option of the br tag.
LINES Takes a string and returns a list of substrings representing each line of text in the original.
LOCAL-LOGO Obsolete. Use cologo instead.
LOWERCASE Takes a string and returns another string with the same letters in all lowercase.
MAXIMUM Returns the maximum of its arguments.
META Inserts an html meta tag into the current page. The arguments generate the corresponding options. Should only be called within a head expression. MINIMUM Returns the minimum of its arguments.
MULTI Used to clump several expressions together. The expressions within it are evaluated and the value of the last is returned.
NOBREAK Inserts html begin and end nobr tags into the current page.
NONEMPTY Returns true if string contains at least one non-whitespace character.
NOT Returns true if its argument is false, and vice versa.
NUMBER Inserts a representation of value into the current page, with digits digits after the decimal point. Uses for space characters if nb is T (default).
OR Returns true if any one of the expressions within it returns true. (None of the expressions after that are evaluated.)
ORDER Returns a url that will order the object whose id is object.
ORDER-FORM Inserts the shopping basket into the current page.
PARAGRAPH Inserts an html p tag into the current page. The align argument becomes the align option of the tag.
PARAGRAPHS Takes a string and returns a list of substrings representing each paragraph of text in the original. Paragraphs are blocks of text separated by blank lines.
POSITION Returns a number representing the position of element in sequence, or nil if it does not occur there.
PRICE Returns a string representing number as a price in the local currency. If supplied, currency overrides the local currency symbol.
RED Returns a number between 0 and 255 representing the red component of a color.
RENDER Creates an image. Usually used in one of two ways: to make an image from a file supplied by the user, or to render text as a gif.

To make an image from a file supplied by a user, supply an image argument of type image. (The image and icon fields in items are of type image.) The original image can be reduced by supplying max-width and max-height.

To render text as a gif, supply a string as the text argument. You will probably also want to supply a font, a font-size, a background-color, a text-color, and margins.
RETURN-WITH Returns value immediately as the value of the call to the current template.
SEARCH-FORM Inserts a size-character wide search form into the current page. The form will be labelled label, and the search button will read button.
SEGMENTS Returns a sequence of successive length-element long subsequences of sequence. If the length of sequence is not a multiple of length, the last subsequence will be short.
SELECT Inserts an html select tag into the current page. The options will be the elements of the list options, with selected as the selected one.
SHIM Inserts a transparent image that is height high and width wide into the current document. The align argument corresponds to the align option of the html img tag.
SHOPPING-BANNER Inserts the shopping basket banner into the current page. Should be used only in .of files.
SWITCH Expressions within a switch expression are interpreted as alternating key-expression pairs. When a switch expression is evaluated, the value of value is matched against the keys, the corresponding expression is evaluated, and its value returned. Returns nil if no key matches.
TABLE Inserts html begin and end table tags into the current page. The arguments correspond to the tag options.
TABLE-CELL Inserts html begin and end td tags into the current page. The arguments correspond to the tag options.
TABLE-ROW Inserts html begin and end tr tags into the current page. The arguments correspond to the tag options.
TAG-WHEN Evaluates its body. If test is true, does so within tags indicated by tag.
TEXT Prints its argument on the current page.
TEXT-STYLE Inserts begin and end tags for one of the html text styles into the current page. The style can be :bold, :italic, :typewriter, :underline, :strike, :big, :small, :subscript, :superscript, or :blinking.
TEXTAREA Corresponds to the html textarea tag.
TITLE Inserts html begin and end title tags into the current page, with text as the title. Should only be called within head.
TO Returns a url that leads to the page of the object whose id is id. The id can be a symbol, or one of the variables id, up, prev, and next, which depend on the current context.
TOKENS Takes a string and returns a list of substrings representing each token in the original. Tokens are groups of characters separated by whitespace.
VALUE Intended for lookups more complex than @. Currently the only possible value for query is :local, which returns true or false depending on whether the object whose id is id has a local property prop.
WHEN If test returns true, the expressions within the when are evaluated and the value of the last is returned. Otherwise returns nil.
WHOLE-CONTENTS Returns a list of the ids of all unexiled objects, in some attempt at alphabetical order based on names.
WIDTH Returns a number representing the width of its argument, which should be an image returned by render.
WITH-LINK Inserts html begin and end a tags into the current page, with destination as the href.
WITH-OBJECT The expressions within the with-object will be evaluated in order with the object whose id is object as the current object.
WITH= The expressions within the with= expression will be evaluated with variable set to value.
WORDBREAK Inserts an html wbr tag into the current page.
YANK Returns a copy of sequence with all instances of element removed.
   

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