nanyang-system-developers

Build Processes

Why do we need builds?

As developers, we often prefer to create products in one format: writing content in Markdown, writing code in a static language (like TypeScript), writing templates, …

But when we publish the product, we need the result in a different format: content in HTML, code in the execution language (like JavaScript), templates with the variable values inserted, …

The build process transforms files from a source format into a target format. This transformation might involve compiling code, bundling assets, or generating static files.

Common Build Scenarios

Static Site Generation

The NYJC Computing static site is written in Markdown. A static site builder called Jekyll transform the files into the HTML that is required for display on the actual site.

Workflow

The build step is typically required when:

  1. Previewing the result
  2. Deploying the product (i.e. sending the built code to the host server)