A simple command-line driven HTML+HTMX+AlpineJS Generator for various backends Version 0.8
Please consider a donation: https://paypal.me/sabufrancis
Started: 27th July 2024 Last Update: Aug 5, 2024
Website: https://howlcode.com Docs: https://docs.howlcode.com
The official repository is here https://github.com/square-foot/howlcode
HOWL = Hypermedia on Whatever You'd Like See https://htmx.org/essays/hypermedia-on-whatever-youd-like/
This nifty utiliy generates the initial files for HTML+HTMX+AlpineJS for many different back-ends, using simple "HOWL Generator Packages"
I wanted one common springing point to rapidly create HTML+HTMX+AlpineJS based SaaS for various different back-ends. Also, I got tired of the nested tree structure of HTML -- and when you add attributes for HTMX and AlpineJS, you get lost in the forest of the HTML trees! (pun intended!)
One HOWL Generator package is written as a set of files, inside a specific sub-folder of "HowlGenerators". You can create such a package yourself. A few are on the Github respository made for such packages.
Read the docs at https://docs.howlcode.com
Each such HOWL Generator Package will assist Howl Code to generate the required HTML and some skeletal server code for the routes that HTMX needs.
There are no real limits on the kind of HOWL Generator Packages that can be written. This system should cater to quite a lot of back-ends. I have written a few. I am sure eventually, the community will provide a lot more HOWL Generator Packages.
This is a command-line program that works on Windows. It is 32 bit so should work on WINE based installations too. Run it from a Windows Console (cmd) without any arguments, and it should explain the arguments that you need to supply. Read the docs too (Link at top)
Yes. Just give the directive 'onlyhtml' (without the apostrophe, and on one line) in that Howl Generator Package's howl.cfg Such a package should be available in this archive where you got this executable. Note that in this case you would need to manually create the back-end code; if your definitions have HTMX attributes. If you do not use HTMX attributes; then this can be an excellent static site generator.
You can write a batch file 'init.bat' in each Howl Generator Package. Do whatever you need to do with your build-tool from within that batch file. The batch file is given 2 arguments: The current build folder you gave using the -dirbuild argument and the name of folder of the Howl Generator Package are both sent to that batch file.
This was written using Visual Prolog 5.2 -- an old compiler. It does NOT accept spaces inside pathnames. So please install this on a path that does NOT have spaces. The working folder from where the program is executed is the place where it finds other directories you specify.
In the definition file, commas are sacred. It is used to identify various parts of the HTML element definition. Do NOT use commas within the strings themselves as that would break the parser. This will be improved in the future.
As the code was written in Visual Prolog 5.2, open-sourcing this really cannot help anyone as that compiler does not exist anywhere anymore. But maybe, if there is enough demand and I get good feedback, I'll consider open sourcing this.
I hope to get enough donations for this. If not; I may be forced to charge a good amount for a future and provide an improved version at some point in time. Early donors who donate more than $25 USD will get whatever version upto Dec 31, 2025 at no additional cost. The issues they submit would get priority.
The HTML Generator Packages required for this to work, are open-sourced though. See my repositories at https://github.com/square-foot
See the file LICENSE.txt