[ANN] SnS Minifier

Ruby Apps Radiant CMS
1

I did say more coming soon, right… So here’s another.

This time it’s the SnS Minifier Extension found at:
https://secure.svnrepository.com/s_swanki/open/radiant/extensions/sns_minifier/tags/latest

Again, early release (v0.1) so please give me feedback.

From the README file:

= Styles 'n Scripts Minifier

Adds the ability to minify CSS and JS files. This way, you can keep your
code
the way you like it in the editor but serve up minified files. (And if
you
really want to speed things up, add GZip to the mix to have your server
crunch
it further).

== Available Minifiers

JSMin is often seen as being an older but safer technology. It certainly
doesn’t pack as well as some others out there but is tried and true.

Ryan nicely ported this one to a plugin too. And I added a minor
addition
too (which is available via options – see below)

Packer is a great tool but it is pretty strict about terminating
javascripts
with semicolons (/packer/usage/sample.html).

I had to repackage this one into a plugin (and strip a lot of the
command
line stuff out). Originally I did all this as I didn’t know about
CSSMin.
Anyway, I included this too basically because I’d already done
everything.

== Usage
It’s pretty simple, really. Once installed, it adds a “Minify?” checkbox
to the
bottom of your Stylesheet and Javascript pages. Just check the box and
save the
file. Viola, the content is minified.

The configuration can be changed via the @@settings variable inside:
/lib/text_asset_mixins.rb

There, you can choose which minifiers you want to use and set any of
their
available options.

== Requirements
You’ll need:

  • Radiant v0.6.7 or higher
  • Styles 'n Scripts Extension v0.5 or higher

== Installation
Install the extension in your Radiant project like:
[your project]/vendor/extensions/sns_minifier

You will need the Styles 'n Scripts extension installed for this to work
and you
will also probably need to change your project’s environment.rb file to
twiddle
the load order (the SnS Extension must be loaded before this one). For
example,
you could use something like:
config.extensions = [ :all, :sns_minifier ]

== To Do
Well first of all this extension needs some specs.

But after that I’d love to find where someone ported the YUI
Compressor (JS
version) to ruby. It appears to be much more flexible (read forgiving)
than
Packer while still crunching stuff way down. A second option would be to
let
admins install the java version and make this plugin interact with that.

2

On Mon, Jul 7, 2008 at 1:30 AM, Chris P. <
[email protected]> wrote:

You will need the Styles 'n Scripts extension installed for this to work
and you
will also probably need to change your project’s environment.rb file to
twiddle
the load order (the SnS Extension must be loaded before this one). For
example,
you could use something like:
config.extensions = [ :all, :sns_minifier ]

I think extensions are loaded in alphabetical order unless otherwise
specified by config.extensions. If you rename this extension to
styles_n_scripts_minifier (or rename styles_n_scripts to sns), you won’t
need the change in environment.rb.

I was poking around in the SVN repo last night and spotted these new
extensions. They look great!

–
Tim G.

3

I got the following error for /admin/css/new:

undefined method `minify’ for #Stylesheet:0x2756ac8

(I’m on OS X 10.5, Rails 2.1, Radiant 0.6.7 using SQLite3)

When I rake db:extensions:sns_minifier:migrate, the add_column never
gets executed. I renamed
sns_minifier/lib/tasks/minify_extension_tasks.rake to
sns_minifier/lib/tasks/sns_minifier_extension_tasks.rake and
remigrated (migrate VERSION=0 then migrate), and it was fixed.

I am now enjoying SASS-filtered, minified stylesheets. Thanks a bunch,
Chris!

–
Tim G.

4

Tim G. wrote:

you could use something like:
extensions. They look great!

Tim, you’re right about the load order thing. I had debated naming the
new extensions “styles_n_scripts_xxx” but I’ve decided that carpal
tunnel syndrome just is not for me.

But I hadn’t considered renaming the whole extension to “sns” though. I
think I like that idea for several reasons.

However, it would require users to physically change something on their
servers – not just update from svn. You would have to change from:
/vendor/extensions/styles_n_scripts
to:
/vendor/extensions/sns

Would anyone be opposed to my renaming the extension like this?

-Chris

P.S. Just to be clear, I’d only be renaming files and their related
code. Oh, and rake tasks would now be “rake radiant:extensions:sns” But
otherwise everything would be identical to your users (even the
extension name in the Admin panel would still show “Styles 'n Scripts”).

5

On Mon, Jul 7, 2008 at 11:02 AM, Chris P. <
[email protected]> wrote:

to:
/vendor/extensions/sns

Would anyone be opposed to my renaming the extension like this?

-Chris

P.S. Just to be clear, I’d only be renaming files and their related code.
Oh, and rake tasks would now be “rake radiant:extensions:sns” But otherwise
everything would be identical to your users (even the extension name in
the Admin panel would still show “Styles 'n Scripts”).

I think renaming the whole thing to SnS would be in-line with your
preference against carpal tunnel syndrome :slight_smile:

None of the models would be renamed (right?), so users should be able to
swap out the existing extension directory for a renamed one and get off
without a hitch. If I had a few spare moments, I’d try it for myself
right
now… maybe there’d be a clash with the version number in the
extension_meta table, and maybe there wouldn’t because it’s listed as
“Styles 'n Scripts”.

–
Tim G.

6

New release! You can find v0.1.1 at:
https://secure.svnrepository.com/s_swanki/open/radiant/extensions/sns_minifier/tags/latest

Thanks to Tim who found this naming issue (see below). What can I say -
it was getting late.

-Chris

7

Tim G. wrote:

None of the models would be renamed (right?), so users should be able to
swap out the existing extension directory for a renamed one and get off
without a hitch. If I had a few spare moments, I’d try it for myself right
now… maybe there’d be a clash with the version number in the
extension_meta table, and maybe there wouldn’t because it’s listed as
“Styles 'n Scripts”.

No, I can keep the “Styles 'n Scripts” name in the meta table and in the
Admin-Extensions page. So all that would be needed is for the user to
update to the latest version of SnS and to change the
“styles_n_scripts” folder name to “sns”. (Or change the
/vendor/extensions folder’s properties if using svn:externals).

But for me it does require renaming all the rake tasks, the
xx_extension.rb file, and probably something else I’m not thinking of.

I’d also probably change StylesNScripts::Config to SnS::Config (and
there would be a bunch of references to that that would need to change
accordingly). Not strictly necessary but something I’d want.

-Chris