feat: renderSection option to retained data

system/View/View.php

@@ -406,8 +406,11 @@ public function endSection()
 
     /**
      * Renders a section's contents.
+     *
+     * @param bool $saveData If true, saves data for subsequent calls,
+     *                       if false, cleans the data after displaying.
      */
-    public function renderSection(string $sectionName)
+    public function renderSection(string $sectionName, bool $saveData = false)
     {
         if (! isset($this->sections[$sectionName])) {
             echo '';
@@ -417,7 +420,9 @@ public function renderSection(string $sectionName)
 
         foreach ($this->sections[$sectionName] as $key => $contents) {
             echo $contents;
-            unset($this->sections[$sectionName][$key]);
+            if ($saveData === false) {
+                unset($this->sections[$sectionName][$key]);
+            }
         }
     }
 

tests/system/View/ViewTest.php

@@ -387,4 +387,14 @@ public function testRenderNestedSections()
         $this->assertStringContainsString('<p>Second</p>', $content);
         $this->assertStringContainsString('<p>Third</p>', $content);
     }
+
+    public function testRenderSectionSavingData()
+    {
+        $view     = new View($this->config, $this->viewsDir, $this->loader);
+        $expected = "<title>Welcome to CodeIgniter 4!</title>\n<h1>Welcome to CodeIgniter 4!</h1>\n<p>Hello World</p>";
+
+        $view->setVar('pageTitle', 'Welcome to CodeIgniter 4!');
+        $view->setVar('testString', 'Hello World');
+        $this->assertStringContainsString($expected, $view->render('extend_reuse_section'));
+    }
 }

tests/system/View/Views/extend_reuse_section.php

@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+<?= $this->extend('layout_welcome') ?>
+
+<?= $this->section('page_title') ?>
+<?= $pageTitle ?>
+<?= $this->endSection() ?>
+
+<?= $this->section('content') ?>
+<?= $testString ?>
+<?= $this->endSection() ?>

tests/system/View/Views/layout_welcome.php

@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+<title><?= $this->renderSection('page_title', true) ?></title>
+<h1><?= $this->renderSection('page_title') ?></h1>
+<p><?= $this->renderSection('content') ?></p>

user_guide_src/source/changelogs/index.rst

@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ See all the changes.
 .. toctree::
     :titlesonly:
 
+    v4.4.0
     v4.3.2
     v4.3.1
     v4.3.0

user_guide_src/source/changelogs/v4.4.0.rst

@@ -0,0 +1,78 @@
+Version 4.4.0
+#############
+
+Release Date: Unreleased
+
+**4.4.0 release of CodeIgniter4**
+
+.. contents::
+    :local:
+    :depth: 3
+
+Highlights
+**********
+
+- TBD
+
+BREAKING
+********
+
+Behavior Changes
+================
+
+Interface Changes
+=================
+
+Method Signature Changes
+========================
+
+Enhancements
+************
+
+Commands
+========
+
+Testing
+=======
+
+Database
+========
+
+Query Builder
+-------------
+
+Forge
+-----
+
+Others
+------
+
+Model
+=====
+
+Libraries
+=========
+
+Helpers and Functions
+=====================
+
+Others
+======
+- **View:** Added optional 2nd parameter ``$saveData`` on ``renderSection()`` to prevent from auto cleans the data after displaying. See :ref:`View Layouts <creating-a-layout>` for details.
+
+
+Message Changes
+***************
+
+Changes
+*******
+
+Deprecations
+************
+
+Bugs Fixed
+**********
+
+See the repo's
+`CHANGELOG.md <https://github.com/codeigniter4/CodeIgniter4/blob/develop/CHANGELOG.md>`_
+for a complete list of bugs fixed.

user_guide_src/source/outgoing/view_layouts.rst

@@ -12,6 +12,8 @@ any view being rendered. You could create different layouts to support one-colum
 blog archive pages, and more. Layouts are never directly rendered. Instead, you render a view, which
 specifies the layout that it wants to extend.
 
+.. _creating-a-layout:
+
 *****************
 Creating A Layout
 *****************
@@ -31,8 +33,24 @@ E.g. **app/Views/default.php**::
     </body>
     </html>
 
-The ``renderSection()`` method only has one argument - the name of the section. That way any child views know
-what to name the content section.
+The ``renderSection()`` method has two arguments: ``$sectionName`` and ``$saveData``. ``$sectionName`` is the name of
+the section used by any child view to name the content section. If the boolean argument ``$saveData`` is set to true,
+the method saves data for subsequent calls. Otherwise, the method cleans the data after displaying the contents.
+
+E.g. **app/Views/welcome_message.php**::
+
+    <!doctype html>
+    <html>
+    <head>
+        <title><?= $this->renderSection('page_title', true) ?></title>
+    </head>
+    <body>
+        <h1><?= $this->renderSection('page_title') ?><h1>
+        <p><?= $this->renderSection('content') ?></p>
+    </body>
+    </html>
+
+.. note:: ``$saveData`` can be used since v4.4.0.
 
 **********************
 Using Layouts in Views