Maximizing efficiency in website reloading and development with Sinatra using Ruby along with Rack and Haml

In my efforts to build a Sinatra website, I have gone from using Shotgun to now utilizing Rerun for reloading my Thin server whenever I make file edits.

However, the development cycle is proving to be quite time-consuming. Even small changes to CSS, JavaScript, or Haml files result in a 7-8 second wait for the server to reload before I can refresh the page in my browser to view the updates. (I am using Sprockets for managing assets in my app.)

It's not feasible to ignore these reloads as it means the page doesn't reflect the changes, making the feedback loop unproductive.

Is there a way to streamline this process, or is this waiting game just part of developing with Sinatra/HAML? As someone coming from a PHP/CSS/HTML background, working with Sinatra/HAML has been challenging, and I feel like I might be missing a fundamental concept?

cssrubysinatrahaml

Answer №1

Initially, I want to clarify that reloading the server is not necessary to view changes in static files. Simply save your modifications and refresh the page to see them.

When it comes to making changes to backend components, I typically utilize the Shotgun gem. Assuming you are not using Windows, you can execute gem install shotgun for installation. Afterward, run shotgun config.ru to effortlessly initiate Rack usage. Shotgun automatically reloads the server upon backend adjustments, offering faster results compared to manual methods. If needed, you can also run it with a Ruby file straight with shotgun file.rb.

For more detailed information on Shotgun and access to its source code, visit the Shotgun repository.

Answer №2

@BreakfastCereal - I appreciate your suggestion, but I have already tried using Shotgun and experienced slow performance as well.

@the Tin Man - Thank you for informing me that making changes to HAML does not necessitate a reload.

After conducting some research, I came across an article that proved to be extremely helpful in implementing guard/rack livereload: Lightning-Fast Sass Reloading

Following this process, everything is now running smoothly, and the live reload feature works wonderfully. Since the article pertains to Rails, I had to add the following code (instead of in 

config/environments/development.rb
):

config.ru

require 'rack-livereload'
use Rack::LiveReload

The crucial realization was that sprockets can modify .js, .css files without requiring a server reload, even if they are minified or concatenated. This led to a significant improvement in speed by instructing rerun to ignore files such as .haml, .scss, .css, .js, achieved simply by adjusting my rerun command to exclude these files:

rerun rackup config.ru -i '**/*.{haml,scss,css,js}'

Ultimately, I am content with utilizing guard/livereload, and the combination of tools works seamlessly together:

Final solution (post configuration)

Launch server with modified rerun command (to trigger server reloads when altering .rb files):

rerun rackup config.ru -i '**/*.{haml,scss,css,js}'

Activate guard to monitor asset changes and enable livereload:
bundle exec guard -P livereload

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