We're Live!

This blog has been a long time coming. I have wanted to post on a number of things that completing the blog became a priority. Before I jump into topics of interest, I want to list some of the technologies driving the blog.

Hugo

The more I use Hugo, the more I love it. My first attempts at a blog used database-driven content management systems (CMS), which made sense at the time. Database driven CMS's are still relevant for large, distributed teams that need a central point to manage their content. The rise of static site generators allows us to sidestep the reliance on a back-end for simple sites. There is a static site generator suited for everyone but when Hugo started supporting org-mode for content was when I became hooked.

The ability to customise Hugo to your tastes is a big plus. It handles the content and then quickly gets out of the way. It is fast, stable and provides all the functionality I need. I only have praise for the team, Hugo is a joy to work with.

GitHub & GitHub Pages

I rely heavily on version control. Most of my work goes into private repositories which left my GitHub account neglected. I use GitHub Pages for this blog. If there is no major reliance on a back-end, you can have your repositories & blog in the same place. Yay Git!

Cloudflare

You have a static website but you now need SSL or some simple server functionality? Enter Cloudflare, helping secure your website as well as other benefits. It solved the issues I had, and it solved it for free.

Gulp NPM

There are options with Task Runners too but I have grown very found of Gulp. In time, I may simplify my builds using more generic tools (i.e. npm natively or bash scripts) but Gulp does what I need it too and it does it well.

Gulp certainly still has its place but after working with Webpack, I have grown more accustomed to NPM scripts. Moving from Gulp to NPM scripts allowed me to remove a 'minor' dependency & streamline my build process.

Susy CSS Grid & Flexbox

For the life of me, I cannot understand why Susy has not been more widely adopted. I have been using Susy as a Sass grid system for a few years and the flexibility it gives is unmatched. The rise of flex-box and CSS-grid will eventually replace Susy. Until then, it allows greater freedom in positioning & layout without the expense of my sanity or weekends.

For its time, Susy was amazing! It added so many options that were either not available or took too long to develop & maintain. But after CSS grid & flexbox arrived (and Susy started to shut down), there really was no excuse to hold onto the past. A combination of CSS grid & flexbox can allow for almost limitless responsive layout options. I decided to try it out and recreate the existing Susy layout using CSS grid & flexbox. And where better than here!

JavaScript

Or lack thereof. One of the goals for the blog was to see if I could solve most problems without having to use JavaScript (JS). Richard Stallman and his approaches to software development have impacted my views. Completely 'free' software is a worthwhile ideal if somewhat inconvenient.

The blog runs Analytics but should still function with JS disabled. Not a day goes by when I do not write some JS, but this blog is as much about experimenting & prototyping as it is about blogging. I'll save JS for the good stuff.

Emacs

My love of Emacs grows. After a number of years using it as a time-tracking & scoping tool, I recently took the plunge and started developing in it. My quality of life has increased significantly.

Question: Is it the only IDE solution & does it do everything better than all the others?

Answer: No, but it can do so much once you get over the learning curve & play to its strengths.

Tip 22 from the Pragmatic Programmer was "Use a single editor well". This struck me as odd because I was using a number of IDE's simultaneously. Each one had its specific niche but fell short in other respects. I now see the advantage of consolidating my life in a single editor. I use other IDE's when needed (Visual Studio, Xcode, Unity & Unreal) but Emacs feels like home every time I fire it up.