Generating static websites with Clojure
I'm a big fan of working with static sites whenever I can.
Some of the reasons for my affinity for static sites:
- They're fast (No need to compile on the server)
- They're secure (No WordPress/Drupal malware to worry about)
- They can be hosted just about anywhere (often for free!)
- Deploying them is as simple as copying a directory somewhere (easy to script/test)
- They're simple to hack/tweak to your hearts content
- I can write my content in MarkDown (Less error prone than most WYSIWIG editors and much easier to work with then HTML)
Netlify has a great write-up about the benefits of static sites: Why Static?
Static site generators
There are a ton of static site generators out there, available in pretty much any language you are interested in. Some of the most popular static site generators are:
Cryogen
I'm on a bit of a Clojure kick right now. So when I started thinking about getting this site up and running again I looked around for a site generator written in Clojure. That's when I stumbled on Cryogen which fit the bill perfectly. It's written in Clojure, has most of the functionality I want and has a decently active community on GitHub.
There are a few rough edges that I've noticed but that's the great thing about open-source projects like this, if the project is missing features I want, I can add them myself.
Links
If you're interested in learning Clojure there are a ton of great resources online. I've really enjoyed:
- Clojure for the Brave and True - Online book/exercises
- 4Clojure - Online exercises
If you're interested in Cryogen head over to the project's GitHub or website and look around!