shamelessly copied/extended, minimal JS-Templating engine - original: http://krasimirtsonev.com/blog/article/Javascript-template-engine-in-just-20-line

parse_template.js

    /**
     * Parses complex HTML-Templates and inserts vars from a dictionary
     * Simple Example:
     *      Template:   "<p>Hello, my name is <%name%>. I\'m <%age%> years old.</p>"
     *      Options:    {name: 'foobar', age: 23}
     *
     * More complex example:
     *      Template:   "<% if(this.flowers.length > 0) { %>
     *                      <ul>
     *                          <% for(var i in this.flowers) { %>
     *                              <li><%this.flowers[i]%></li>
     *                          <% } %>
     *                      </ul>
     *                   <% } else {%>
     *                       <p>no flowers for you</p>
     *                   <% } %>"
     *       Options:   {flowers: ['orchid', 'daisy']}
     *
     *
     * @param html      the template
     * @param options   dictionary containing replacement options
     * @returns {*}     the filled template code
     */
    var parse_template = function(html, options) {
        $.each(template_functions,function (key,value) {
           options[key] = value;
        });
        var re = /<%([^%]+)?%>/g, reExp = /(^(\s)?(if|for|else|switch|case|break|{|}))(.*)?/gi, code = 'var r=[];\n', cursor = 0, match;
        var add = function(line, js) {
            js? (code += line.match(reExp) ? line + '\n' : 'r.push(' + line + ');\n') :
                (code += line != '' ? 'r.push("' + line.replace(/"/g, '\\"') + '");\n' : '');
            return add;
        };
        while(match = re.exec(html)) {
            add(html.slice(cursor, match.index))(match[1], true);
            cursor = match.index + match[0].length;
        }
        add(html.substr(cursor, html.length - cursor));
        code += 'return r.join("");';
        return new Function(code.replace(/[\r\t\n]/g, '')).apply(options);
    };
    
    var template_functions = {
        // now some functions that can be used right from templates
        include: function (name, params, ajax_params) {
            params = window.helpers.templates._ensure_dict(params);
            ajax_params = window.helpers.templates._ensure_dict(ajax_params);
            ajax_params["async"] = false;
            var template = window.helpers.templates.fetch(name, ajax_params);
            return window.helpers.templates.parse_template(template, params);
        },
        img_url: function(img) {
            return settings.proto + '//' + settings.host + settings.root + '/img/' + img;
        }
    }