This is probably the most exciting web update we’ve had in WebBroker since Delphi 6. The WebStencils enhancements in RAD Studio 13.0 Florence are so significant, I’d almost call this a 2.0 version.

If you’ve been building web applications with RAD Studio’s WebStencils template engine, you’re going to love what we’ve packed into this release. We’ve taken community feedback and added features that make web development with Delphi and C++Builder more productive and enjoyable than ever.

What is WebStencils?

For the ones who haven’t heard about it yet, WebStencils is Embarcadero’s template engine that works with both WebBroker and RAD Server, letting you build dynamic web applications using familiar Delphi or C++ syntax alongside HTML templates. The beauty is in its simplicity: you get the power of server-side rendering without learning entirely new frameworks.

The Major New Features

Complete Session Management & Authentication

As discussed in our previous sneak peek blog post, this was the most requested feature from the community. RAD Studio 13.0 introduces a complete session and authentication system that works out of the box with just three components:

Extremely Simple Setup

Session data automatically becomes available in templates through the @session object:

@if session.Authenticated {
  <div>Welcome back, @session.UserName!</div>
}

@if session.UserHasRole('admin') {
  <a href="/admin">Admin Panel</a>
}

Role-based authorization zones are just as simple:

// Protect admin areas - only users with 'admin' role can access /admin/*
Zone.PathInfo := '/admin*';
Zone.Kind := zkProtected;
Zone.Roles := 'admin';

Database-Driven UI Generation

This feature fundamentally changes how you can build web forms. WebStencils now gives you access to dataset properties and field metadata, meaning your database schema can generate your UI:

<!-- Dynamic forms that adapt to any dataset -->
@foreach field in customers.fields {
  <div class="form-group">
    <label>@field.DisplayLabel</label>
    @switch(field.dataType) {
      @case "ftString" {
        <input type="text" name="@field.FieldName" 
               maxlength="@field.Size" class="form-control">
      }
      @case "ftInteger" {
        <input type="number" name="@field.FieldName" class="form-control">
      }
      @case "ftDate" {
        <input type="date" name="@field.FieldName" class="form-control">
      }
    }
  </div>
}

Imagine changing a field’s Visible property in FireDAC Field Editor and having it automatically appear in your web form, without touching a line of HTML.

Built-in Security

The new security whitelist system prevents accidental exposure of sensitive data. By default, a list of common safe properties is already whitelisted for the classes TStrings and TDataset, but this is easily customizable based on the project requirements.

// Add custom properties to the whitelist
TWebStencilsProcessor.Whitelist.Configure(TMyClass,['SafeProperty'], nil, False);

// Block specific properties  
TWebStencilsProcessor.Whitelist.Configure(TDataSet, nil, ['ConnectionString'], False);

The @switch Operator

The new @switch operator makes conditional rendering cleaner, avoiding messy nested @if statements:

@switch(user.role) {
  @case "admin" {
    <div class="admin-panel">
      <h2>Admin Dashboard</h2>
    </div>
  } 
  @case "moderator" {
    <div class="mod-tools">
      <h2>Moderator Tools</h2>
    </div>
  } 
  @default {
    <div class="user-content">
      <h2>Welcome, User!</h2>
    </div>
  }
}

Custom Data Access

Add custom variables using anonymous methods for better adaptability:

// Add custom variables using a simple dictionary
type
  TMap = TDictionary<string, string>;
...
LDict := TMap.Create;
LDict.Add('APP_VERSION', '1.0.0');
LDict.Add('DEBUG_MODE', 'True');

WebStencilsEngine.AddVar('env', LDict, True,
  function(AVar: TWebStencilsDataVar; const APropName: string;
    var AValue: string): Boolean
  begin
    Result := TMap(AVar.TheObject).TryGetValue(APropName.ToUpper, AValue);
  end);

Then in templates:

<h1>@env.APP_NAME - @env.APP_VERSION</h1>
@if env.DEBUG_MODE {
  <div class="alert-warning">Debug mode is active</div>
}

Additional Enhancements

• Better Layout System: Nested @ExtraHeader support for complex layout hierarchies
• Improved @page Object: Access to request_path and request_segment for better URL handling
• Docker Support: Ready-to-go containerization with automatic database initialization

See It In Action

The demos work with SQLite and in-memory data sources, showing WebStencils’ versatility across different storage strategies.

Ready to test it?

The learning curve is gentle, and existing WebStencils templates work unchanged. New features are additive, so you can adopt them at your own pace while immediately benefiting from automatic session integration and security improvements.

Get started with RAD Studio 13.0 Florence (Delphi or C++Builder), clone the WebStencilsDemos repository, and explore the examples. We’re looking forward to seeing what you build with these new features.

---

Questions or feedback? The GitHub Issues section is the best place to reach us. Star the repo and let us know what you think!