[wp-hackers] Re: Packing JavaScript

[Otto]

On 9/19/07, Charles <lists07 at wiltgen.net> wrote:
> > http://www.joelonsoftware.com/items/2007/09/18.html
>
> Most of that article makes sense, but only for things that require effort.
>
> I think I spent about a 15 minutes making a build script that compresses and
> combines the JavaScript for Objecty, and before that I'd never needed to
> make a Linux shell script in my life.
>
> -- Charles

Okay. So now you have to run that build script every time you upgrade
the javascript. And you have to modify that build script if those
upgrades add new files. Essentially, you have to maintain that script
along with the javascript files themselves.

Wouldn't it make a whole lot more sense to simply get the pre-made
compressed versions of whatever you're compressing?

I mean, jQuery comes with compressed versions. WordPress uses them.
Prototype doesn't, but others maintain compressed up-to-date versions
of it. Ditto Scriptaculous. Why should WordPress maintain its own
compression schemes when it can simply use other projects directly?
Why reinvent the wheel?