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Gulp.js

Server-side JavaScript build tool

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  • 6 chapters

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It is a task runner built on Node.js and npm, used for automation of time-consuming and repetitive tasks involved in web development like minification, concatenation, cache busting, unit testing, linting, optimization, etc.

gulp uses a code-over-configuration approach to define its tasks and relies on its small, single-purpose plugins to carry them out. The gulp ecosystem includes more than 3500 such plugins.

Overview

gulp is a build tool in JavaScript built on node streams. These streams facilitate the connection of file operations through pipelines. gulp reads the file system and pipes the data at hand from one single-purposed plugin to another through the .pipe() operator, doing one task at a time. The original files are not affected until all the plugins are processed. It can be configured either to modify the original files or to create new ones. This grants the ability to perform complex tasks through linking its numerous plugins. The users can also write their own plugins to define their own tasks. Unlike other task runners that run tasks by configuration, gulp requires knowledge of JavaScript and coding to define its tasks. gulp is a build system which means apart from running tasks, it is also capable of copying files from one location to another, compiling, deploying, creating notifications, unit testing, linting, etc.

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