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https://github.com/torba-rb/torba

Bundler for Sprockets
https://github.com/torba-rb/torba

asset-pipeline sprockets

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Bundler for Sprockets

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# Torba



[![Build Status](https://img.shields.io/travis/torba-rb/torba.svg)](https://travis-ci.org/torba-rb/torba)

[![Gem version](https://img.shields.io/gem/v/torba.svg)](https://rubygems.org/gems/torba)



**Torba** is a [Bower][bower]-less asset manager for [Sprockets][sprockets]. It makes a local copy

of a JS/CSS library and puts it under Sprockets' [load path][sprockets-load-path].



## Name origin



"Торба" [[tǒːrba][torba-pronounce]] in Ukrainian and "torba" in Polish, Turkic languages can mean

"duffel bag", "gunny sack" or, more generally, any flexible container.



## Status



Production ready.



## Documentation



[Released version](http://rubydoc.info/gems/torba/1.2.0)



## Why



De facto approach, i.e. wrapping JS and CSS libraries in a gem, requires a

maintainer to constantly track changes in an upstream repository. Even more so, if a gem

maintainer stops using that specific library, the gem will eventually become abandoned.

Additionally, many libraries still have no gem wrappers.



Other alternatives:



* [rails-assets][rails-assets] relies on Bower *and* it is quite complex,

* [bower-rails][bower-rails] relies on Bower, see below for why this can be an issue.



Problems with the Bower:



* it is not a part of the Ruby ecosystem,

* frontend JS libraries are usually standalone (except for a potential jQuery dependency), so there's

  no need for a complex Bundler-like solution with tree-dependency resolution,

* often we can't use optimistic version constraints, because the JavaScript community does not consistenly apply the principles of [Semver][semver]. By specifying strict versions we use Bower as a complex facade for functionality that could be accomplished with curl.



## External dependencies



* curl

* unzip

* gzip

* tar



## Design limitations



* Torba doesn't do any version dependency resolution, it's up to you to specify the correct version of

  each asset package,

* Torba doesn't do any builds, you should use remote sources with pre-built assets.



## Installation



### Rails



Use [torba-rails][torba-rails-github].



### Sinatra



See this [example project][sinatra-example].



### Other Ruby application



Add this line to your application's Gemfile and run bundle:



```ruby

gem 'torba'

```



## Usage



1. Create Torbafile at the project root and commit it.



2. Run `bundle exec torba pack`.



3. Add "require" [Sprockets directives][sprockets-directives] to your "application.js"

and/or "@import" [Sass directives][sass-import] to "application.css".



If any changes made to the Torbafile, run `bundle exec torba pack` again.



### Torbafile



Torbafile is an assets specification. It is a plain text file that contains one or more

sections, each of them describes one remote source of assets.



Currently only zip, tar.gz archives, [Github releases][github-releases] and

[npm packages][npm] are supported.



#### Zip archive package



Allows to download and unpack asset package from any source accessible by curl.



The syntax is:



```ruby

zip "name", url: "..." [, import: %w(...)]

```



where "name" is an arbitrary name for the package, more on "import" below. For example,



```ruby

zip "scroll_magic", url: "https://github.com/janpaepke/ScrollMagic/archive/v2.0.0.zip"

```



#### Tar.gz archive package



The syntax is same as for a zip package:



```ruby

targz "name", url: "..." [, import: %w(...)]

```



for example,



```ruby

targz "scroll_magic", url: "https://github.com/janpaepke/ScrollMagic/archive/v2.0.0.tar.gz"

```



#### Github release package



This is a more readable version/shortcut for "https://github.com/.../archive/..." URLs.



The syntax is:



```ruby

gh_release "name", source: "...", tag: "..." [, import: %w(...)]

```



where "source" is the user + repository and "tag" is the repository tag (exactly as on Github,

i.e. with "v" prefix if present), more on "import" below. For example,



```ruby

gh_release "scroll_magic", source: "janpaepke/ScrollMagic", tag: "v.2.0.0"

```



You can omit the name, it will be equal to the repository name:



```ruby

gh_release source: "janpaepke/ScrollMagic", tag: "v.2.0.0" # "ScrollMagic" is assumed

```



#### npm package



Allows to download packages from npm registry.



The syntax is:



```ruby

npm "name", package: "...", version: "..." [, import: %w(...)]

```



where "package" is the package name as published on npm registry and "version" is its version,

more on "import" below. For example,



```ruby

npm "coffee", package: "coffee-script", version: "1.9.2"

```



You can omit the name, it will be equal to the package name:



```ruby

npm package: "coffee-script", version: "1.9.2"

```



### Examples



See [Torbafiles][torbafile-examples] used for testing.



### "Packing the torba" process



When you run `torba pack` the following happens:



1.  All remote sources are cached locally.



2.  Archives are unpacked with top level directory removed. This is done for good because it

usually contains the package version in the name, e.g. "react-0.13.2", and you don't want to have to reference versions

inside your application code (except Torbafile).



3.  Remote source's content is copied as is to the `Torba.home_path` location with **package name used

as a namespace**.



    This is also done for good reason in order to avoid name collisions (since many JS projects can have

assets with the same names and all packages are placed into Sprockets' shared virtual filesystem).

The downside is that you have to use namespaces in each require directive, which can lead to

duplication:



    ```javascript

    // application.js

    //= require 'underscore/underscore'

    ```



    Hint: use "require_directory" if you're strongly against such duplication:



    ```javascript

    //= require_directory 'underscore'

    ```



4.  Stylesheets (if any) are converted to ".css.erb" with "asset_path" helpers used in "url(...)"

statements.



### :import option



Copying whole remote source's content has the disadvantage of using remote source specific paths in your

require/import directives. For example, if an archive contains files in the "dist/css" directory, you'll have

to mention it:



```css

/* application.css */

@import 'lightslider/dist/css/lightslider';

```



To mitigate this you can cherry-pick files from the source via the "import" option, for example:



```ruby

gh_release "lightslider", source: "sachinchoolur/lightslider", tag: "1.1.2", import: %w[

  dist/css/lightslider.css

]

```



Such files will be copied directly to the package root (i.e. file tree becomes flatten), thus you

can omit unnecessary paths:



```css

@import 'lightslider/lightslider';

```



You can use any Dir.glob pattern:



```ruby

gh_release "lightslider", source: "sachinchoolur/lightslider", tag: "1.1.2", import: %w[

  dist/css/lightslider.css

  dist/img/*.png

]

```



In addition to this "path/" is treated as a shortcut for "path/**/*" glob pattern.



[bower]: http://bower.io/

[sprockets]: https://github.com/rails/sprockets/

[sprockets-load-path]: https://github.com/rails/sprockets#the-load-path

[torba-pronounce]: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/28/Uk-%D1%82%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B1%D0%B0.ogg

[github-releases]: https://help.github.com/articles/about-releases/

[sprockets-directives]: https://github.com/rails/sprockets#the-directive-processor

[sass-import]: http://sass-lang.com/documentation/file.SASS_REFERENCE.html#import

[rails-assets]: https://rails-assets.org/

[bower-rails]: https://github.com/rharriso/bower-rails

[semver]: http://semver.org/

[npm]: https://npmjs.com

[torba-rails-github]: https://github.com/torba-rb/torba-rails

[sinatra-example]: https://github.com/xfalcox/sinatra-assets-seed

[torbafile-examples]: https://github.com/torba-rb/torba/tree/master/test/fixtures/torbafiles