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Shortcodes in WordPress are bits of text you can use in the content area to invoke some kind of function to accomplish certain tasks.For example, video embedding in WP 2.9+ and higher uses the shortcode.
You can write your own shortcodes, and plugins often offer their functionality via shortcodes as well.
But what if you want to use a shortcode from within a template instead of with the content of a Post/Page?
You can invoke it with a special function:
<?php echo do_shortcode("[shortcode]"); ?>