Using Compass framework with ASP.NET MVC application.

In my previous post I described how to start working with SASS using Mindscape Web Workbench.

In this post I am taking next step - start working with Compass - CSS Authoring Framework.

Immediately after installing Web Workbench, you can create/edit SCSS file, which are compiled into CSS. By default, Web Workbench compile SCSS files with SASS compiler.  But there is a trick:

Tools: SlowCheetah - XML Transforms

If you have different Debug/Release configurations and want to switch them automatically when you run application - this tool is "must to have" for you.

SlowCheetah - XML Transforms
"This package enables you to transform your app.config or any other XML file based on the build configuration. It also adds additional tooling to help you create XML transforms.. Written by: Sayed Ibrahim Hashimi, Chuck England and Bill Hiebert"

Just used it with my application, it works like a charm, no more lines of code in build script changing configuration for production environment. 

Highly recommended!

Add power of SASS to ASP.NET application

I always wanted to find a way to develop CSS in a way I write C# or JavaScript. The main problem in CSS as a language for me were complexity of refactoring and code reuse.

There were projects such SASS and LESS, but there was no way to adopt them into .NET/Visual Studio environment easily.

About month ago I met amazing product - Mindscape Web Workbench . It is a Visual Studio plug in, allows you to write SASS, LESS and Coffee Script with Visual Studio and therefore use power of those technologies in ASP.NET project.