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Sass vs node-sass: What are the differences?
Sass and node-sass are both tools that allow developers to use Sass, a CSS extension language, in their projects. However, there are several key differences between the two.
Installation: Sass is a Ruby gem and requires Ruby to be installed on the system. On the other hand, node-sass is a Node.js binding, which means it can be installed using npm without any Ruby dependency.
Performance: Node-sass is generally faster than Sass as it is a C++ binding for LibSass, a popular Sass compiler written in C++. This makes node-sass a better choice for larger projects or projects with tight performance requirements.
Language compatibility: Sass supports both the SCSS (Sassy CSS) and Sass syntaxes. SCSS is a superset of CSS and follows the CSS syntax closely, while Sass has its own syntax with a more concise and indentation-based structure. Node-sass, being a Sass compiler, supports both syntaxes as well.
Reduced memory footprint: Node-sass has a smaller memory footprint compared to Sass. This is because node-sass directly interacts with LibSass, bypassing the need for a Ruby interpreter and reducing the overall memory usage.
Community and support: Sass has been around for longer and has a larger community compared to node-sass. As a result, there are more resources, tutorials, and community support available for Sass. However, node-sass also has an active community and is widely used in the Node.js ecosystem.
Better integration with Node.js ecosystem: Node-sass integrates seamlessly with the Node.js ecosystem and can be easily incorporated into build processes using task runners like Gulp or webpack. This allows for better automation and enables developers to take advantage of the vast Node.js package ecosystem.
In summary, Sass and node-sass are both powerful tools for using Sass in web development. While Sass requires Ruby and has a larger community, node-sass offers better performance, reduced memory footprint, and better integration with the Node.js ecosystem. Depending on the project requirements and developer preferences, either tool can be a suitable choice.
Originally, I was going to start using Sass with Parcel, but then I learned about Stylus, which looked interesting because it can get the property values of something directly instead of through variables, and PostCSS, which looked interesting because you can customize your Pre/Post-processing. Which tool would you recommend?
Pros of node-sass
Pros of Sass
- Variables613
- Mixins594
- Nested rules466
- Maintainable410
- Functions300
- Modular flexible code149
- Open source143
- Selector inheritance112
- Dynamic107
- Better than cs96
- Used by Bootstrap5
- If and for function3
- Better than less2
- Inheritance (@extend)1
- Custom functions1
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Cons of node-sass
- Needs Microsoft BuildTools and Python 2.7 to install1
Cons of Sass
- Needs to be compiled6
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What is node-sass?
What is Sass?
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