Why does html/template escape \'<\' but not \'>\'?

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Understanding HTML/Template Escaping

An issue has been raised regarding html/template unnecessarily escaping "<" to "<" while leaving ">" untouched. To understand this behavior, let's first examine the purpose of HTML/template escaping.

HTML Escaping for Safety

HTML/template provides automatic escaping of potentially dangerous characters to prevent code injection vulnerabilities. This escaping is context-sensitive, ensuring that data is properly encoded when embedded in different contexts, such as HTML, CSS, or URIs.

html/template for HTML Output Only

However, it's crucial to note that html/template is specifically designed for generating HTML output. Its main intention is to provide a safe means of embedding user-supplied data into HTML documents.

Use text/template for Non-HTML Output

If the output you require is not HTML, you should use text/template instead. Unlike html/template, text/template does not perform escaping, allowing you to generate plain text or custom file formats.

Conclusion

In the example provided, the template is intended to generate a non-HTML file, such as a readme or license. Therefore, you should use text/template, which does not escape characters, to avoid unnecessary encoding of "<". By choosing the appropriate template package based on the output format, you can ensure the correct behavior and avoid unexpected escaping issues.

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