What is a build tool?
- In simple words, a build tool is software that automates the process of converting the code into the final product.
- This process can include the Compilation of code, Minification, Building, Code spitting, Transpilation, Testing, Assets optimization, and Providing a development environment.
Let's understand the process one by one :
Compilation of the code: In this process, the build tool compiles the code into browser-understandable languages eg. Typescript to Javascript, SASS to CSS.
Minification: This process includes minifying the files(removing the unnecessary code, comments, removing the white spaces, etc).
Code spitting: Break up the code into smaller chunks and load them available on demand.
Transpilation: Converting the moders ES6/ES7 module code into older version ES5 for older browsers.
Testing: Running tests to check if code changes can produce bugs.
Assets optimization: Compressing the images and other files to reduce the size for best use and fast load.
Development Server: Build tools provide the local server with live reloading for development.
How build tool work?
Configuration: Build tools are configured using the config files.
e.g. webpack.config.js, vite.config.js. This config file defines the task to be performed on the source code.File processing: This process includes transpiling of files such as typescript to javascript and SCSS to CSS
Output Generation: The final processed optimized files are generated and stored inside a defined folder e.g. build, gist.
Thank you for reading.
Top comments (0)