All of the templating systems that I’ve seen built for PHP just add an extra layer of confusion and processing on top of what is already there, as well as requiring anyone using it to learn the new form of syntax used by that particular system.
The biggest reason that this won’t be core any time soon is that theres no need for it. Standard PHP works great for templating. The syntax is already known, it’s used almost everywhere, and if you know PHP you can use it straight away without needing to learn anything else.
Another big problem is deciding on which one to use. How would you decide on which templating system to use out of the 100’s or 1,000’s out there? Remember that as soon as you choose one that everyone that supports every other system will be upset that theirs didn’t get chosen.
For me personally, it’s also about performance. Templating systems can be OK when used properly, but as I said already it’s just another layer of programming code needed to do something that’s already being done now without it. All that does is add the page execution times and make sites slower.
With all of that in mind, I would not support adding an external templating system as I don’t see it as being beneficial to the majority of users.
