Usage

Here you'll find a brief overview of how to use the build tools in this repo.

Build Tools' Usage

Jekyll

• Directory Structure: This is a basic look at the directory structure of a Jekyll site. Ours is a bit different because we have a directory called all-collections where our collections are housed so _drafts and _posts are kept in there as well. We also have many more pages, assets, config files, etc.
• Variables: Global, site, and page variables available to liquid through front matter and config files.
• Templating: Layouts are templates that wrap around your content. The layout is determined by the front matter of the page in which the layout template is declared, and the content is written below the front matter. Includes can be inserted into the content and act as partials (mini-layouts) that render other templates.
• Page vs. Post: Pages are used for standalone content which is not date-based and does not belong to a collection. Posts are used for blog posts and news articles. Each item in a collection will create a page or not, depending on settings in the config file.
• Collection vs. Data: Collections and Data Files organize alike items into groups. The difference is that a Data File will only store the data as front matter to be rendered in a list when called upon. Collections have the ability to display all items on an index page as well as create a show page for each item in the collection.

Using Jekyll with GitHub Pages

Dependency Versions: GitHub Pages currently only supports Jekyll v3.9.0 and has some other fun idiosyncrasies about gem and version compatibility. We definitely need to just build the site locally and then push it up to the repo.