Harp is a static web server with inbuilt preprocessors for CSS. Running on Node.js, Harp is cross-platform compatible unlike Hammer which is only meant for Mac. It includes the templating languages for HTML document and can be turned into a full application by using server-side JavaScript. If one is not a programmer, they can build their static site and compile it for hosting in some other place with the help of Harp.
As Harp is also MIT licensed, one can even make changes, redistribute, and resell it. Unlike other Node-based tools, Harp doesn’t make any assumption that one might want to use its CSS framework, HTML boilerplate, or animation library, for that matter. Instead, it gives the tools that enable the web developers to write a code faster.
Let us have a detailed look at some of the key features of Harp:
Automatic Pre-Processing
Harp pre-processes the code automatically and serves it to a browser as CSS, HTML, and JavaScript. In layman’s terms, it allows a developer to write instead of wrangle.
Built-in Pre-Processors
Harp comes well-equipped with preprocessors like Less, Sass, Stylus, Coffee-script, and Mark down. All these are available without the need of configuring or setting-up.
Layout / Partial Paradigm
One can keep their code clean and organized with Harp because it makes use of the Layout / Partial paradigm. While Partial enables web developers to reuse common elements, Layout enables them to maintain a consistent site design. Harp makes both these paradigms available to EJS and Jade.
Templating Languages
Harp also comes with Jade and EJS. These JavaScript templating languages help in generating advanced HTML documents. One can build HTML templates and store an actual page’s content separately from those HTML templates.
Fast and Lightweight
While using Harp, all one has to do is Save and Refresh. It compiles the assets just in the way the browser needs them, making itself lightning fast.
Flexible and Bespoke
Simply pass the meta-data into views and pages to move from static assets to dynamic content. Harp allows web developers to use their favorite variables, loops and templating engines, making application development fun for them.
Facilitates Easy Compilation and Deployment
Whether you are working on a Git-hub project, or developing a mobile application using Apache or Phone-gap, you can easily compile your code to CSS, JavaScript, and of course HTML, and host it anywhere.
Harp also allows you to skip the compiling all together, and publish from Drop-box. It is for anyone who is spending more time in setting up environments and server and configuration files management. So to remove distractions that lie around the publishing process, make use of Harp.