That's just Mustache template formatting (or for the better javascript equivalent, Handlebars)
Handlebars.js: Minimal Templating on Steroids
I just integrated those into the new serpIQ, they're so fucking awesome. Makes ajax updates a breeze, without having to incorporate a full JS framework.
figures
haven't messed with this. gotten pretty comfortable with backbone js though. there are a ton of these frameworks emerging these days
ERB doesn't need to be rendered server side its just the template syntax and I agree with Matt it is horrible. Who would use angle brackets for a template markup in html? I use underscore js templating which by default uses erb delimiters however its easily remedied with this:erb is great, but it has to be rendered server side, which makes your ajax responses slower and heavier. might as well just respond with json and let the client end figure it out with handlebars/mustache templates
I've dabbled in it a bit, and have an idea for a real project I want to pursue with it soon. Have you read through this? https://github.com/kjbekkelund/writings/blob/master/published/understanding-backbone.md/
it's a great overview of how to change your mentality to using backbone versus "normal" jquery
_.templateSettings = {
evaluate : /\{\[([\s\S]+?)\]\}/g,
interpolate : /\{\{([\s\S]+?)\}\}/g
};