Download - Sydjs: static site generators
Static is not a dirty wordSydJS, 2013.10.23 / Ben Buchanan / @200okpublic
weblog.200ok.com.au
That's static websites.
You can argue about types (again) later.
"Why are you making a static site?! That's a bit old school isn't it?"
Everything old is new again.
Good use cases
● Small/medium sites● Blogs● Version-specific or bundled documentation
Use case: UI library
● Build it with its own templates● Docs and demos● Test pages
● Include docs in repo● pull requests can include code, tests and docs
● Versioned docs deployed at release
Bad use cases
● Anything else :-P● Things that actually should be an app.
Upsides of static
● Fast● Less moving parts (in prod)● Deploy anywhere
Downsides
● Dynamic content means oldschool scripting● "It just seems too simple."
"It just seems too simple."
...and anyway, "simple":
A few nodejs options
● Hexo*● Romulus*● Blacksmith, CabinJS, DocPad, Wintersmith... ● See modernstatic.com for a list
* As seen in JS Weekly ;)
Goes a liddle sumthin like this
● npm install -g name● name scaffold dirname && cd dirname● name generate● name server● name deploy
Look for...
● Clear setup, dev/test and deploy phases● Documentation● Your preference for:
● Templates● Preprocessors● Deployment options
● Proof of life (beware abandonware)
Example activity checkBlacksmith CabinJS Docpad Hexo Romulus Wintersmith
Age 2 years 5 months 2 years 1 year 1 year 2 years
Version 1.1.3 0.3.1 6.53.4 2.2.1 0.1.1 2.0.7
Active 3 months 1 week 2 weeks 1 week 5 months 2 weeks
PRs ~100 ~100 ~700 ~300 2 ~200
Forks 31 14 143 184 4 137
Watchers 49 10 98 86 20 61
Stars 450 115 1619 1145 156 1090
License MIT MIT MIT MIT MIT MIT
(collected 2013.10.19)
Static sites have their place.Embrace simple.