Choosing the Best Templating Engine for Your Java Project: FreeMarker, Thymeleaf, or Velocity?

Comparing FreeMarker, Thymeleaf, and Velocity

Introduction to Templating Engines

Templating engines are powerful tools that allow developers to separate the presentation logic from the business logic in web applications. They provide a way to define dynamic templates that can be rendered with data to produce HTML output.

Framework	Language	Popularity	Features
FreeMarker	Java	Popular	Robust, flexible, and widely used in Java projects.
Thymeleaf	Java	Very popular	Seamless integration with Spring, excellent support for HTML5, and natural templates.
Velocity	Java	Less popular	Lightweight, simple, and easy to learn.

Code Examples

FreeMarker Table Example:

<table>
  <tr>
    <th>Name</th>
    <th>Age</th>
  </tr>
  <#list users as user>
    <tr>
      <td>${user.name}</td>
      <td>${user.age}</td>
    </tr>
  </#list>
</table>
  

Thymeleaf Table Example:

<table>
  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th>Name</th>
      <th>Age</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr th:each="user : ${users}">
      <td th:text="${user.name}"></td>
      <td th:text="${user.age}"></td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>
  

Velocity Table Example:

<table>
  <tr>
    <th>Name</th>
    <th>Age</th>
  </tr>
  #foreach($user in $users)
    <tr>
      <td>$user.name</td>
      <td>$user.age</td>
    </tr>
  #end
</table>