Is this html code using php inside it without the signs?

Question

<a href="?page={$smarty.section.page.index}&{$per_pages_vars}">{$smarty.section.page.index}</a>
{/if}
{/section}
{if $pagesArray.is_next_page eq 'Y'}
  <span class="resultsnext">
    <a href="?page={$pagesArray.next_page_is}{if $id}&id={$id}{/if}&{$per_pages_vars}">&gt;</a>      
  </span>
{/if} 

I have written simple php based websites before but this is the first time I am getting involved in a complex php website that another person has already finished to a large extent. This is also the first time I'm seeing this type of code in a html template section of the website.

Basically, what I'm curious is, what are all the code in the {} curly brackets? Is it some sort of php code? Another php file refers this .html file that is containing the above code.

There is a lot of content being dynamically generated, but I've never seen '{}' curly brackets being used in a .html file while having it being used as part of a template so I was wondering if some of you guys could enlighten me.

thanks.

Answer 1

That is a PHP templating language, specifically, Smarty.

Smarty parses the file for its own syntax and replaces their placeholders with variables, etc that are bound to the smarty view.

Smarty Documentation.

Answer 2

That's smarty:

http://www.smarty.net/

Answer 3

You're looking at Smarty tags. Here's a link to the current documentation.

Answer 4

It's smarty :)

Actually you're looking at sections.

http://www.smarty.net/docsv2/en/language.function.section.tpl