Search icon CANCEL
Arrow left icon
Explore Products
Best Sellers
New Releases
Books
Videos
Audiobooks
Learning Hub
Conferences
Free Learning
Arrow right icon
Getting Started with Grunt: The JavaScript Task Runner
Getting Started with Grunt: The JavaScript Task Runner

Getting Started with Grunt: The JavaScript Task Runner: If you know JavaScript you ought to know Grunt – the Task Runner for managing sophisticated web applications. From a basic understanding to constructing your own advanced Grunt tasks, this tutorial has it all covered.

eBook
$15.99 $22.99
Paperback
$38.99
Subscription
Free Trial
Renews at $19.99p/m

What do you get with Print?

Product feature icon Instant access to your digital eBook copy whilst your Print order is Shipped
Product feature icon Paperback book shipped to your preferred address
Product feature icon Download this book in EPUB and PDF formats
Product feature icon Access this title in our online reader with advanced features
Product feature icon DRM FREE - Read whenever, wherever and however you want
Table of content icon View table of contents Preview book icon Preview Book

Getting Started with Grunt: The JavaScript Task Runner

Chapter 2. Setting Up Grunt

In this chapter, we will go over the steps required to get Grunt up and running. We begin with an introduction into Node.js and npm, as they are the key technologies used to build the foundations upon which Grunt stands. We review Node.js modules and how they relate to Grunt, then cover the basics of a Grunt environment, including package.json and Gruntfile.js files. Once we are set up, we'll move onto configuring Grunt. We will look into the various methods and strategies that make Grunt best convey our build.

Installation


In this section, we cover how to install and use Grunt's key components, Node.js and npm. We will review a brief introduction into each, as well as their core concepts. Subsequently, we will cover the simple installation of Grunt itself.

Node.js

Although this book primarily focuses on Grunt, we will also dip our toes into the world of Node.js (http://gswg.io#node) fairly regularly. Given Grunt is written as a Node.js module and Grunt tasks and plugins are also Node.js modules, it is important that we understand the basics of Node.js and its package manager, npm (http://gswg.io#npm).

Ryan Dahl started the Node.js project in early 2009 out of frustration with the current state of web servers in the industry. At the time, web servers written in Ruby (Mongrel and then Thin) were popular due to the Ruby on Rails framework. Ryan realized that writing a really fast web server in Ruby just wasn't possible. Ruby's inefficiency was actually caused by the language's blocking nature, which...

Project setup


Now we have installed Node.js, npm and Grunt, we're ready to create our first Grunt environment. Let's say we've already built a website, now we want to use Grunt to minify our assets. In this section, we'll learn about the two required files: the package.json file and the Gruntfile.js file, as well as a recommended directory structure.

package.json

The package.json file is a package descriptor; it is used to store all metadata about the module, such as name, version, description, author, repository, and more. It's the single file required to effectively use npm, therefore, the package.json file can also be thought of as the "npm file". As the file extension would suggest, it must be in the JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) data format. If the JSON syntax is invalid, npm will display an error when reading this file. Using a package.json file in our project has many benefits. These include: making it easy to reinstall our dependencies by defining a dependencies field; letting...

Configuring tasks


Grunt configuration can be thought of as single JavaScript object, though, instead of assigning values, we'll use functions provided by Grunt to get and set properties.

We briefly touched on Grunt configuration in Chapter 1, Introducing Grunt, displaying simple uses of the grunt.initConfig, grunt.config.get and grunt.config.set functions. The grunt.initConfig function (which as mentioned earlier, is aliased from grunt.config.init) accepts an object, which is then used as the starting point for our configuration, whereas the grunt.config.get and grunt.config.set functions are used to get and set individual properties. We can also use the shorter grunt.config function, which works like jQuery getters and setters. When called with one argument it aliases to grunt.config.get, and with two arguments, it aliases to grunt.config.set. Each line in the following example is functionally equivalent:

grunt.config.init({ foo: { bar: 7 }});
grunt.config.set('foo.bar', 7); 
grunt.config...

Summary


At this point, we have Node.js along with npm installed on our machine. We have the npm module grunt-cli installed globally, providing us with the grunt executable. We understand the basic premise of how modules work in Node.js and we know how to find and install modules from npm. Lastly, we understand the purpose of the package.json file and the Gruntfile.js file. In the next chapter, we will learn how to create our own tasks using Grunt.

Left arrow icon Right arrow icon

What you will learn

  • Learn about Grunt and its advantages
  • Understand Node.js and how it relates to Grunt
  • Take an indepth look at npm, Node.js modules, and the working of Grunt plugins
  • Get familiar with installing Grunt and setting up your first Grunt build environment
  • Gain insight on the methods of configuring Grunt and when each method should be used
  • Effectively execute Grunt through the use of task arguments, task aliasing, multitask targets, and more
  • Construct your own Grunt tasks, multitasks, and asynchronous tasks
Estimated delivery fee Deliver to Egypt

Standard delivery 10 - 13 business days

$12.95

Premium delivery 3 - 6 business days

$34.95
(Includes tracking information)

Product Details

Country selected
Publication date, Length, Edition, Language, ISBN-13
Publication date : Feb 19, 2014
Length: 132 pages
Edition :
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781783980628
Category :
Languages :
Tools :

What do you get with Print?

Product feature icon Instant access to your digital eBook copy whilst your Print order is Shipped
Product feature icon Paperback book shipped to your preferred address
Product feature icon Download this book in EPUB and PDF formats
Product feature icon Access this title in our online reader with advanced features
Product feature icon DRM FREE - Read whenever, wherever and however you want
Estimated delivery fee Deliver to Egypt

Standard delivery 10 - 13 business days

$12.95

Premium delivery 3 - 6 business days

$34.95
(Includes tracking information)

Product Details

Publication date : Feb 19, 2014
Length: 132 pages
Edition :
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781783980628
Category :
Languages :
Tools :

Packt Subscriptions

See our plans and pricing
Modal Close icon
$19.99 billed monthly
Feature tick icon Unlimited access to Packt's library of 7,000+ practical books and videos
Feature tick icon Constantly refreshed with 50+ new titles a month
Feature tick icon Exclusive Early access to books as they're written
Feature tick icon Solve problems while you work with advanced search and reference features
Feature tick icon Offline reading on the mobile app
Feature tick icon Simple pricing, no contract
$199.99 billed annually
Feature tick icon Unlimited access to Packt's library of 7,000+ practical books and videos
Feature tick icon Constantly refreshed with 50+ new titles a month
Feature tick icon Exclusive Early access to books as they're written
Feature tick icon Solve problems while you work with advanced search and reference features
Feature tick icon Offline reading on the mobile app
Feature tick icon Choose a DRM-free eBook or Video every month to keep
Feature tick icon PLUS own as many other DRM-free eBooks or Videos as you like for just $5 each
Feature tick icon Exclusive print discounts
$279.99 billed in 18 months
Feature tick icon Unlimited access to Packt's library of 7,000+ practical books and videos
Feature tick icon Constantly refreshed with 50+ new titles a month
Feature tick icon Exclusive Early access to books as they're written
Feature tick icon Solve problems while you work with advanced search and reference features
Feature tick icon Offline reading on the mobile app
Feature tick icon Choose a DRM-free eBook or Video every month to keep
Feature tick icon PLUS own as many other DRM-free eBooks or Videos as you like for just $5 each
Feature tick icon Exclusive print discounts

Frequently bought together


Stars icon
Total $ 148.97
Getting Started with Grunt: The JavaScript Task Runner
$38.99
Node Cookbook: Second Edition
$54.99
Mastering Node.js
$54.99
Total $ 148.97 Stars icon

Table of Contents

5 Chapters
Introducing Grunt Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Setting Up Grunt Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Using Grunt Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Grunt in Action Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Advanced Grunt Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Customer reviews

Top Reviews
Rating distribution
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Half star icon 4.4
(10 Ratings)
5 star 50%
4 star 40%
3 star 10%
2 star 0%
1 star 0%
Filter icon Filter
Top Reviews

Filter reviews by




Willie Pritchett Apr 09, 2014
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
While the book's title would lead you to believe that the book is about Grunt, which it is for the most part, you are also treated with the added bonus of receiving a slight introduction into Node.JS as well!As a full stack developer, I can appreciate tools that assist in making my job easier and Grunt is an exceptional tool for eliminating repetitive tasks and this book covers it beautifully. Some topics that you will gain helpful insight on include:1. Configuring Grunt to run your own Tasks2. Using Grunt for Testing purposes3. Setting up and Configuring GruntI would say this book is moreso for a user who has a working knowledge of Javascript or at least a beginner Javascript developer. Otherwise, many of the terms used throughout the book will not make much sense.An Excellent read and I highly recommend it.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Hemanta Sapkota Mar 31, 2014
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
The book maybe about Grunt, but its biggest value proposition, IMHO, is the excellent walkthrough on the Node.js ecosystem and modern web development.The author has very cleverly leveraged Grunt as a medium to introduce more advanced tools like Coffeescript, Jade, Stylus, all of which when used properly results in a huge productivity boost. See Chapter 4 Grunt in Action.The only thing that I felt missing was a chapter on Javascript itself. A brief intro on Javascript and its idiosyncrasies could have served as a nice appendix. Although, the book does contain a good reference list on Javascript.Who will benefit from the book ? Not including the usual front-end developers and framework creators:1. Experienced Java developers like myself who've made the move to the dynamic world of Javascript (front-end/backend)2. Web developers proficient in JQuery/PHP but have failed to get onboard the Node trainAll in all, there's no doubt that the book will serve as a handy reference for Javascript developers.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Callie Jul 03, 2014
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
I'm a newbie to web development, and I've been doing A LOT of reading over the last two months. This book was well written and informative. I would recommend this book to anyone who is trying to teach themselves Grunt.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
astericky Jul 29, 2014
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
This book is among the best introductions to Grunt: The Javascript Task Runner and Nodejs platform I have seen to date. I was so pleased with this book that I recommended it to the other developers on my team immediately upon finishing this book.The author immediately starts us out with creating a simple Grunt task. He explains the benefits of using a task runner at all in the development process. We learn why Grunt is an excellent choice for task runner in real world use cases such as code minification, code linting and code deployments.Next we are guided through a more thorough set up of Grunt and the NodeJS platform. We learn about basic configuration and directory structure. The author does not stop there though. He walks us through installing grunt packages and plug-ins as well as building our own custom Grunt tastsk.By the end of this book the author had me convinced that Grunt is the tool my team can leaverage at work to get control of our unweildy code base and get some structure and consistency around our deployment process.Often times I find that beginner books are almost too beginner for the audience they are trying to target. This book really hits the sweetspot in terms of getting beginners set up quickly and easily without alienating more senior developers or going into the gory details of Grunt before developers have any real context or understanding around the problem Grunt attempts to solve.One way I would improve this book is move the last 15-20 pages on development tools to an appendix of some sort. However, I would not include it as a part of a chapter titled Advanced Grunt.Full disclosure: I was asked to do this review literally the day after I finished it. However, I've read this book and thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.I'm stunned that such a potentially boring topic could make for an amazing book.Full disclosure: I was asked to do this review literally the day after I finished it. However, I've read this book and thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
P S Sep 17, 2015
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
This book is worth every cent! Not only it gives you information on grunt but background on node js is just fantastic.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Get free access to Packt library with over 7500+ books and video courses for 7 days!
Start Free Trial

FAQs

What is the delivery time and cost of print book? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Shipping Details

USA:

'

Economy: Delivery to most addresses in the US within 10-15 business days

Premium: Trackable Delivery to most addresses in the US within 3-8 business days

UK:

Economy: Delivery to most addresses in the U.K. within 7-9 business days.
Shipments are not trackable

Premium: Trackable delivery to most addresses in the U.K. within 3-4 business days!
Add one extra business day for deliveries to Northern Ireland and Scottish Highlands and islands

EU:

Premium: Trackable delivery to most EU destinations within 4-9 business days.

Australia:

Economy: Can deliver to P. O. Boxes and private residences.
Trackable service with delivery to addresses in Australia only.
Delivery time ranges from 7-9 business days for VIC and 8-10 business days for Interstate metro
Delivery time is up to 15 business days for remote areas of WA, NT & QLD.

Premium: Delivery to addresses in Australia only
Trackable delivery to most P. O. Boxes and private residences in Australia within 4-5 days based on the distance to a destination following dispatch.

India:

Premium: Delivery to most Indian addresses within 5-6 business days

Rest of the World:

Premium: Countries in the American continent: Trackable delivery to most countries within 4-7 business days

Asia:

Premium: Delivery to most Asian addresses within 5-9 business days

Disclaimer:
All orders received before 5 PM U.K time would start printing from the next business day. So the estimated delivery times start from the next day as well. Orders received after 5 PM U.K time (in our internal systems) on a business day or anytime on the weekend will begin printing the second to next business day. For example, an order placed at 11 AM today will begin printing tomorrow, whereas an order placed at 9 PM tonight will begin printing the day after tomorrow.


Unfortunately, due to several restrictions, we are unable to ship to the following countries:

  1. Afghanistan
  2. American Samoa
  3. Belarus
  4. Brunei Darussalam
  5. Central African Republic
  6. The Democratic Republic of Congo
  7. Eritrea
  8. Guinea-bissau
  9. Iran
  10. Lebanon
  11. Libiya Arab Jamahriya
  12. Somalia
  13. Sudan
  14. Russian Federation
  15. Syrian Arab Republic
  16. Ukraine
  17. Venezuela
What is custom duty/charge? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Customs duty are charges levied on goods when they cross international borders. It is a tax that is imposed on imported goods. These duties are charged by special authorities and bodies created by local governments and are meant to protect local industries, economies, and businesses.

Do I have to pay customs charges for the print book order? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

The orders shipped to the countries that are listed under EU27 will not bear custom charges. They are paid by Packt as part of the order.

List of EU27 countries: www.gov.uk/eu-eea:

A custom duty or localized taxes may be applicable on the shipment and would be charged by the recipient country outside of the EU27 which should be paid by the customer and these duties are not included in the shipping charges been charged on the order.

How do I know my custom duty charges? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

The amount of duty payable varies greatly depending on the imported goods, the country of origin and several other factors like the total invoice amount or dimensions like weight, and other such criteria applicable in your country.

For example:

  • If you live in Mexico, and the declared value of your ordered items is over $ 50, for you to receive a package, you will have to pay additional import tax of 19% which will be $ 9.50 to the courier service.
  • Whereas if you live in Turkey, and the declared value of your ordered items is over € 22, for you to receive a package, you will have to pay additional import tax of 18% which will be € 3.96 to the courier service.
How can I cancel my order? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Cancellation Policy for Published Printed Books:

You can cancel any order within 1 hour of placing the order. Simply contact customercare@packt.com with your order details or payment transaction id. If your order has already started the shipment process, we will do our best to stop it. However, if it is already on the way to you then when you receive it, you can contact us at customercare@packt.com using the returns and refund process.

Please understand that Packt Publishing cannot provide refunds or cancel any order except for the cases described in our Return Policy (i.e. Packt Publishing agrees to replace your printed book because it arrives damaged or material defect in book), Packt Publishing will not accept returns.

What is your returns and refunds policy? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Return Policy:

We want you to be happy with your purchase from Packtpub.com. We will not hassle you with returning print books to us. If the print book you receive from us is incorrect, damaged, doesn't work or is unacceptably late, please contact Customer Relations Team on customercare@packt.com with the order number and issue details as explained below:

  1. If you ordered (eBook, Video or Print Book) incorrectly or accidentally, please contact Customer Relations Team on customercare@packt.com within one hour of placing the order and we will replace/refund you the item cost.
  2. Sadly, if your eBook or Video file is faulty or a fault occurs during the eBook or Video being made available to you, i.e. during download then you should contact Customer Relations Team within 14 days of purchase on customercare@packt.com who will be able to resolve this issue for you.
  3. You will have a choice of replacement or refund of the problem items.(damaged, defective or incorrect)
  4. Once Customer Care Team confirms that you will be refunded, you should receive the refund within 10 to 12 working days.
  5. If you are only requesting a refund of one book from a multiple order, then we will refund you the appropriate single item.
  6. Where the items were shipped under a free shipping offer, there will be no shipping costs to refund.

On the off chance your printed book arrives damaged, with book material defect, contact our Customer Relation Team on customercare@packt.com within 14 days of receipt of the book with appropriate evidence of damage and we will work with you to secure a replacement copy, if necessary. Please note that each printed book you order from us is individually made by Packt's professional book-printing partner which is on a print-on-demand basis.

What tax is charged? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Currently, no tax is charged on the purchase of any print book (subject to change based on the laws and regulations). A localized VAT fee is charged only to our European and UK customers on eBooks, Video and subscriptions that they buy. GST is charged to Indian customers for eBooks and video purchases.

What payment methods can I use? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

You can pay with the following card types:

  1. Visa Debit
  2. Visa Credit
  3. MasterCard
  4. PayPal
What is the delivery time and cost of print books? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Shipping Details

USA:

'

Economy: Delivery to most addresses in the US within 10-15 business days

Premium: Trackable Delivery to most addresses in the US within 3-8 business days

UK:

Economy: Delivery to most addresses in the U.K. within 7-9 business days.
Shipments are not trackable

Premium: Trackable delivery to most addresses in the U.K. within 3-4 business days!
Add one extra business day for deliveries to Northern Ireland and Scottish Highlands and islands

EU:

Premium: Trackable delivery to most EU destinations within 4-9 business days.

Australia:

Economy: Can deliver to P. O. Boxes and private residences.
Trackable service with delivery to addresses in Australia only.
Delivery time ranges from 7-9 business days for VIC and 8-10 business days for Interstate metro
Delivery time is up to 15 business days for remote areas of WA, NT & QLD.

Premium: Delivery to addresses in Australia only
Trackable delivery to most P. O. Boxes and private residences in Australia within 4-5 days based on the distance to a destination following dispatch.

India:

Premium: Delivery to most Indian addresses within 5-6 business days

Rest of the World:

Premium: Countries in the American continent: Trackable delivery to most countries within 4-7 business days

Asia:

Premium: Delivery to most Asian addresses within 5-9 business days

Disclaimer:
All orders received before 5 PM U.K time would start printing from the next business day. So the estimated delivery times start from the next day as well. Orders received after 5 PM U.K time (in our internal systems) on a business day or anytime on the weekend will begin printing the second to next business day. For example, an order placed at 11 AM today will begin printing tomorrow, whereas an order placed at 9 PM tonight will begin printing the day after tomorrow.


Unfortunately, due to several restrictions, we are unable to ship to the following countries:

  1. Afghanistan
  2. American Samoa
  3. Belarus
  4. Brunei Darussalam
  5. Central African Republic
  6. The Democratic Republic of Congo
  7. Eritrea
  8. Guinea-bissau
  9. Iran
  10. Lebanon
  11. Libiya Arab Jamahriya
  12. Somalia
  13. Sudan
  14. Russian Federation
  15. Syrian Arab Republic
  16. Ukraine
  17. Venezuela