So, in the entire history of DocPad, since its inception in 2011, this is our first newsletter, in 2016!
DocPad is the powerful static-site-generator for Node.js. It was the first mature static site generator for Node.js, by a matter of years, and is still the most powerful. However, since 2014, the project stopped receiving funding from sponsors, and maintenance went on hold while I figured out how to live under such circumstances. I’ve now figured out better life arrangements, and am working again on programming, the Bevry eco-system, and consequently DocPad, as you may have noticed over the past 12 months.
What’s the Latest?
CoffeeScript to JavaScript/ESNext
We have already moved 75% of our projects over from CoffeeScript to JavaScript, and have seen great benefits in the tooling, adoption, and performance of such a change.
DocPad to Streamline
DocPad is going to start eliminating complexity that slowed it down and focus on the core thing it did best - power and static site generation. To do this, it will be broken apart into JavaScript components. Plugin system will use semantic versioning. Server will be a swappable plugin, so you can use express 3, express 4, hapi, whatever. Watching will be a plugin, so you can use watchr or watchman, or whatever. This means DocPad can continue, despite compatibility restraints.
DocPad to Race
DocPad can easily become slow when layouts or partials reference other documents. DocPad will finally implement intelligent tracking around this. TaskGroup has also been rewritten for extreme performance (4 times faster), the library that powers DocPad’s non-blocking and stable nature.
Amsterdam in September
Benjamin will be presenting Elegantly Produce and Consume Compiled Packages at the Linux Foundation’s Node.js Interactive Europe Conference in Amsterdam during September 15-18 2016. Get a ticket and say hi!
What’s Next?
We need your feedback in making the decisions about what to cut, and what to focus on. We can also do with sponsorship to continue the momentum of updates. The new roadmap and sponsorship offerings are available on our Patreon and start for as little as $1/month or even $5/month to get your name in all updated README files.
Join the Roadmap: https://bevry.me/patreon
Join the Discussion: https://discuss.bevry.me
Join the Chat: https://slack.bevry.me
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BevryMe
All the best. Benjamin Lupton, founder of Bevry, makers of DocPad