LESS Helper

This little Helper converts your .less files into .css without relying on Node.js or client-side parsing. Everything is compiled on the server, cached, and served as regular css through PHP.

Installation

Get the files in place

Git submodule

If you are developing your application with Git already, you can install the plugin as a submodule. In your git base folder type

git submodule add https://github.com/brandonferens/less.git app/Plugin/Less

Git clone

In your plugin directory type

git clone https://github.com/brandonferens/less.git Less

Initialize lessphp submodule and download files

In the plugin folder ('app/Plugins/Less') type

git submodule init
git submodule update

Create cache and less folders

• Create a folder called less in app/webroot/
• Create a folder called less in app/tmp/cache
• Apply chmod 777 to your css folder. (The Less Helper will place all compiled css files in your css-directory)

Usage

Where you want to use LESS files, add the helper. Usually this will be your AppController.

public $helpers = array('Less.Less');

Next, simply add the less files to your views:

echo $this->Less->css('yourfile');

Multiple less files

echo $this->Less->css(
  array(
    'bootstrap/bootstrap',
    'prettify',
  )
);

Themes

echo $this->Less->css(
  'yourfile',
  array(
    'theme' => 'yourtheme'
  )
);

CSS file compression

echo $this->Less->css(
  'yourfile',
  array(
    'compressed' => 'classic'
  )
);

Possible compression methods:

• classic lessphp’s original formatter
• lessjs Same style used in LESS for JavaScript
• compressed (default) Compresses all the unrequired whitespace
• null or empty there won't be any compression done on the output CSS

If the less file is located in the webroot of a plugin

echo $this->Less->css(
  'yourfile',
  array(
    'plugin' => 'PluginFolderName'
  )
);

It doesn't matter if you link to stolen .css files directly, the Helper will check for the existance of a .less version first, and fall back if it doesn't find one.

If it does find a corresponding .less file with the same name in your less directory, it will compile it to css and place it in your css directory