Data & Configuration - What Framework?

Environment Variables

Access environment variables in templates using syntax. Perfect for API keys, configuration, and secrets.

Live Examples:

USER:

HOME: /home/wwwhat

SHELL:

Tip: Set variables when starting the server:
API_KEY=secret DEBUG=true cargo run -- dev

<p>API Key: </p>
<p>Debug: </p>
<p>Database: </p>

Data Store

What includes a built-in JSON data store. Define collections in wwwhat.toml or use the data/ directory.

Configuration:

# wwwhat.toml
[data]
posts = { file = "data/posts.json" }
users = { file = "data/users.json" }

Template Usage:

<loop data="#posts#" as="post">
<h2>#post.title#</h2>
</loop>

# wwwhat.toml configuration
[data]
posts = { file = "data/posts.json", cache = 60 }
users = { file = "data/users.json", cache = 300 }

# Using in templates
<loop data="#posts#" as="post">
  <h2>#post.title#</h2>
  <p>#post.excerpt#</p>
</loop>

CRUD Operations

Built-in endpoints for create, update, and delete operations on your data collections.

Create

POST /w-action/posts?w-action=create&w-redirect=/posts

Update

POST /w-action/posts/123?w-action=update&w-redirect=/posts

Delete

POST /w-action/posts/123?w-action=delete&w-redirect=/posts

<!-- Create form -->
<form action="/w-action/posts?w-action=create&w-redirect=/posts">
  <input name="title">
  <button type="submit">Create</button>
</form>

<!-- Update form -->
<form action="/w-action/posts/#id#?w-action=update">
  <input name="title" value="#post.title#">
  <button type="submit">Update</button>
</form>

<!-- Delete button -->
<form action="/w-action/posts/#id#?w-action=delete">
  <button type="submit">Delete</button>
</form>

Caching

What includes multi-level caching for optimal performance with automatic invalidation.

Cache Levels:

Page cache: Rendered HTML pages
Data cache: JSON file contents
External cache: API responses

Cache is automatically invalidated when data is modified via w-action endpoints.

# wwwhat.toml
[cache]
enabled = true
ttl = 300  # 5 minutes default

# Per-collection cache TTL
[data]
posts = { file = "data/posts.json", cache = 60 }
users = { file = "data/users.json", cache = 300 }

File-Based Routing

Your file structure defines your URLs. No route configuration needed.

pages/
  index.html → /
  about.html → /about
  post/[id].html → /post/123
  blog/index.html → /blog
  404.html → (fallback)

# Dynamic routes with [param]
pages/
  post/[id].html     → /post/123
  user/[username].html → /user/john

# Access params in templates
<h1>Post #id#</h1>
<h1>User: #username#</h1>