Tuesday, 31 May 2011

Using SASS outside of a framework

If you like the idea of using SASS to add more "IQ points" to your css but you're not working on a  framework such as rails, then read on!

What is SASS?
Don't know what SASS is? check here: http://sass-lang.com/
(Also COMPASS is very similar and built on SASS .. a brief video intro is here and its well worth watching http://vimeo.com/11671458 )

Setting up SASS
I found the following link very useful when setting up: 
http://intridea.com/2010/4/13/sass-static-webpages-without-framework

You might find the following set up hints useful also ....
  • you need to install ruby on your machine first
  • You get sass by using the ruby gem download mechanism (gem install haml)
  • If, like me, you are working behind a company firewall then you may need to 'circumvent' your firewall to download the gem using the --http-proxy setting
gem install --http-proxy http://username:password@yourproxy.com:8080 haml
  • type "sass --help" or "sass --version" to confirm you have installed sass correctly
I'll post more on my experiences with using SASS soon!