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Adding Report Templates

This guide explains how to create, structure, extend, and maintain report templates in Aniwa.

Templates are one of the most important parts of Aniwa’s reporting system because they control:

  • layout
  • styling
  • visual hierarchy
  • presentation quality
  • report usability

Templates transform:

structured profiling intelligence

into:

beautiful, understandable visual reports

Purpose of Templates

Templates separate:

presentation

from:

business logic

Why Templates Matter

Without templates:

  • renderers become difficult to maintain
  • styling becomes inconsistent
  • customization becomes fragile
  • visual scalability becomes difficult

Template Philosophy

Aniwa templates are designed to be:

Principle Purpose
modular reusable layouts
maintainable isolated presentation
extensible future themes
responsive multi-device support
beautiful professional UX

Template Engine Overview

Current rendering flow:

DatasetProfile
→ renderer
→ Jinja2 template
→ HTML output
→ final report

Current Template Engine

Aniwa currently uses:

Jinja2

Why Jinja2 Was Chosen

Jinja2 provides:

  • clean syntax
  • reusable templates
  • conditionals
  • loops
  • template inheritance
  • strong Python integration

Current Template Location

Templates are typically stored in:

aniwa/templates/

Example Template Structure

Example:

aniwa/templates/
├── default.html
├── clean.html
├── compact.html
├── dark.html
├── enterprise.html

Current Template Types

Aniwa currently supports:

Template
default
clean
compact
dark
enterprise

Why Multiple Templates Matter

Different users prefer different report styles.

Examples:

User Preferred Style
developers compact
executives enterprise
dashboards dark
documentation clean

Template Responsibilities

Templates should handle:

  • layout
  • styling
  • spacing
  • rendering organization
  • conditional display

Templates Should NOT Handle

Templates should NOT contain:

  • profiling logic
  • dataframe computation
  • business rules
  • dataset analysis

Why Logic Separation Matters

Separation improves:

  • maintainability
  • readability
  • scalability
  • contributor onboarding

Template Data Source

Templates consume:

DatasetProfile

Typical Template Context

Example:

profile.summary
profile.columns
profile.insights
profile.metadata

Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1 — Create the Template File

Add a new template inside:

aniwa/templates/

Example

Example:

aniwa/templates/minimal.html

Step 2 — Start With Standard HTML Structure

Basic example:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
</head>
<body>
</body>
</html>

Step 3 — Add Jinja2 Variables

Example:

{{ profile.summary.rows }}

Step 4 — Add Conditional Rendering

Example:

{% if profile.insights %}

Why Conditional Rendering Matters

This prevents:

  • empty sections
  • broken layouts
  • visual clutter

Step 5 — Organize Sections Clearly

Recommended sections:

Section
header
metadata
summary
schema
statistics
insights
charts

Step 6 — Add Styling

Templates may include:

  • inline CSS
  • linked stylesheets
  • reusable utility classes

Current Styling Philosophy

Aniwa styling should feel:

modern, clean, and professional

Design Priorities

Templates should prioritize:

  • readability
  • spacing
  • information hierarchy
  • accessibility

Typography Philosophy

Typography should remain:

  • clean
  • minimal
  • readable

Recommended Font Styles

Good font categories:

Style
sans-serif
developer-friendly
modern UI fonts

Color Philosophy

Templates should maintain:

  • strong contrast
  • visual consistency
  • restrained palettes

Layout Philosophy

Layouts should remain:

structured and uncluttered

Responsive Design Philosophy

Reports should work across:

  • desktops
  • tablets
  • mobile devices

Why Responsiveness Matters

Reports are often:

  • shared
  • viewed remotely
  • embedded into workflows

Current Responsive Strategies

Typical techniques:

  • CSS grids
  • media queries
  • flexible containers

Chart Integration

Templates may include charts.

Current Chart Engine

Aniwa currently uses:

Chart.js

Why Charts Matter

Charts improve:

  • readability
  • executive communication
  • insight discovery

Current Chart Types

Typical charts:

Chart
null percentages
unique values
duplicate overview

Chart Rendering Flow

Typical flow:

DatasetProfile
→ JSON serialization
→ Chart.js
→ visualization

Metadata Rendering

Templates should render metadata such as:

  • profiling mode
  • dataset path
  • generated time
  • Aniwa version

Why Metadata Matters

Metadata improves:

  • reproducibility
  • governance
  • debugging

Example Metadata Block

Example:

{{ profile.metadata.generated_at }}

Empty State Philosophy

Templates should gracefully handle:

  • missing sections
  • empty datasets
  • absent insights

Example Empty State

Example:

<p>No insights detected.</p>

Template Naming Philosophy

Template names should remain:

clear and descriptive

Good Template Names

Examples:

Name
clean
dark
enterprise
compact

Bad Template Names

Avoid vague names like:

template2

Template Scalability Philosophy

Templates should remain:

modular and extensible

Why Scalability Matters

Report systems grow significantly over time.

Future Template Inheritance

Future systems may use:

base templates

Example Future Structure

Example:

base.html
↓
enterprise.html
↓
dark.html

Why Template Inheritance Matters

Inheritance improves:

  • reuse
  • consistency
  • maintainability

Future Component Systems

Future templates may evolve into:

component-based architectures

Potential Future Components

Possible reusable components:

Component
summary cards
schema tables
metadata panels
chart blocks

Future Dashboard Templates

Potential future systems:

  • interactive dashboards
  • live profiling UIs
  • observability interfaces

Future Theme Systems

Potential future features:

  • custom themes
  • organization branding
  • dark/light switching

Enterprise Branding Vision

Future enterprise systems may support:

  • company logos
  • brand palettes
  • white-label reports

Future Interactive Systems

Potential future capabilities:

Feature
collapsible sections
dynamic filtering
searchable tables
interactive charts

Accessibility Philosophy

Templates should remain accessible.

Accessibility Goals

Future accessibility improvements:

  • semantic HTML
  • keyboard support
  • contrast compliance

Performance Philosophy

Templates should remain:

fast and lightweight

Why Performance Matters

Large reports can become:

  • slow to render
  • memory-heavy
  • browser-intensive

Current Optimization Strategies

Current goals include:

  • conditional rendering
  • lightweight layouts
  • reusable structures

Future Optimization Areas

Potential improvements:

Optimization
lazy loading
virtualized tables
deferred chart rendering

Security Philosophy

Templates should avoid:

  • unsafe rendering
  • arbitrary execution
  • untrusted injection

Safe Rendering Practices

Prefer:

  • escaped rendering
  • sanitized inputs
  • controlled rendering paths

Testing Philosophy

Templates should be tested independently.

Recommended Template Tests

Tests should validate:

Area
rendering success
responsive layout
chart rendering
empty states
metadata rendering

Example Template Test

Example:

def test_template_renders():

Template Anti-Patterns

Avoid:

Anti-Pattern
business logic in templates
excessive inline scripting
cluttered layouts
duplicated structures

Contributor Best Practices

Contributors should prioritize:

  • readability
  • consistency
  • maintainability
  • responsiveness

Pull Request Checklist

Before submitting:

  • template renders correctly
  • responsive design works
  • charts render properly
  • tests pass
  • documentation updated

Future Plugin Template Vision

Future systems may support:

third-party template plugins

Example Future Plugin Flow

Example:

plugin
→ custom template
→ renderer
→ report

Long-Term Vision

Aniwa’s template system is evolving toward:

a universal data presentation framework

Strategic Importance

Templates are not merely:

visual decoration

They are:

the communication layer between data intelligence and humans

Final Philosophy

The template system exists to ensure that:

dataset intelligence becomes visually understandable, elegant, and actionable

Related Documentation

Continue with:

  • architecture/template-engine.md
  • architecture/reporting-system.md
  • api/reports.md
  • developer-guide/adding-report-formats.md