Handlebars is a templating language that generates HTML markup by combining template files with a data model. It's like the IKEA of web development - you pick your parts (the template and model) and it puts them together into something that looks reasonably good but won't win any design awards.

How to use it in a sentence

• I wanted to use React for this project, but the lead engineer insisted on using Handlebars because he's a masochist who enjoys debugging nested curly braces.

• The new hire suggested using Handlebars for the email templates, but the senior dev just laughed and said, "Sure, if you want to be stuck maintaining that mess for the next decade."

If you actually want to learn more...

• A Beginner's Guide to Handlebars: This tutorial provides a gentle introduction to Handlebars, walking through the basics of templates, context, helpers, and partials. It's a good place to start if you're new to the world of templating and want to understand the fundamental concepts.

• Handlebars.js Tutorial: If you prefer a more concise and practical approach, this 10-minute tutorial covers the essentials of Handlebars with code examples. It's perfect for those who learn best by doing and want to quickly grasp how to use Handlebars in real-world scenarios.

• Handlebars Cheatsheet: Once you've got the basics down, this handy cheatsheet serves as a quick reference for Handlebars syntax, built-in helpers, and custom helpers. Keep it bookmarked for those moments when you can't remember how to iterate over an array or escape HTML characters.

Note: the Developer Dictionary is in Beta. Please direct feedback to skye@statsig.com.