7 <:default:>

<:default name [value]:>

If in the current STML document, there exists no local variable called name (or it's value is None), create it and assign it the object in value. The value argument defaults to the empty string.

This tag is often used in STML components, which are STML documents that can be embedded in other STML documents. Components are called with argument attributes, which end up as local variables in the component document. If the calling STML document does not pass a variable you need, it won't be in your component document, and when you try to use it, you will get a Python NameError, meaning that there is no variable under that name. This tag makes sure that the variable name exists and that it has a value.