This is a simple example of using Gulp with some NodeJS-based tools for application prototyping. This is primarily intended for creating a skeleton of the front-end code of an application that would be developed on some other platform (like Java). You could do something similar with static site tools like Wintersmith or Metalsmith. The problem I usually run into with using tools like that is the plugin ecosystem often isn't well maintained, and I end up fighting with it instead of working.
After cloning and installing dependences, run:
yarn start
// or
npm start
Open a browser and navigate to localhost:8080. It'll live reload as you edit. Edit to your heart's content.
Once cloned, the files you'll want to edit are:
- gulpfile.js (specifically the fonts task, to copy over the fonts for your project)
- package.json (to add and remove front end dependencies you want--I added a few I commonly use)
- stylesheets/app.scss (entry point for the css)
- javascripts/app.js (entry point for the scripts)
- views/*.njk (Nunjucks templates that get rendered to actual pages)
- site-data.json (available when rendering templates)
If you work with developers that aren't using Node, it's nice if you can hand something over that can be reused. Someone could used the "compiled" front-end code to make JSP pages, or they could also pick out the Sass code and re-used it.