From cdecb8191a791b8db66effe61de16cb3e3904238 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: "Brandon C. Irizarry" Date: Sun, 8 Mar 2026 19:16:04 -0400 Subject: Reorder posts according to new publishing algorithm --- drafts/posts/writing-my-blog-with-eleventy.md | 90 --------------------------- 1 file changed, 90 deletions(-) delete mode 100644 drafts/posts/writing-my-blog-with-eleventy.md (limited to 'drafts/posts/writing-my-blog-with-eleventy.md') diff --git a/drafts/posts/writing-my-blog-with-eleventy.md b/drafts/posts/writing-my-blog-with-eleventy.md deleted file mode 100644 index dc78e51..0000000 --- a/drafts/posts/writing-my-blog-with-eleventy.md +++ /dev/null @@ -1,90 +0,0 @@ -+++ -title = "Writing My Blog With Eleventy" -tags = ["blogging"] -date = 2025-12-03 - -summary = """ - -This is a reproduction of a post I had on my old blog, which I've \ -since migrated to a custom engine. - -""" - -+++ - -# Introduction - -This is *at least* my third time trying to start a blog. - -First, I experimented with using Org Mode's HTML exporting feature to -create posts; unfortunately, that didn't get me far, though there are -some [interesting attempts](https://one.tonyaldon.com/) by others to this end. I might've -published this material at some point, but at any rate it didn't stay -up long. An early topic from this time include a post about a [Java -build system](https://github.com/BrandonIrizarry/Hydraulic-Make) I once wrote that scanned a `.java` file for its -dependencies (defined by things like package imports and code syntax), -so that those would get passed into `javac` along with the target -file. - -# Hugo -I then started writing a blog using Hugo. Hugo was my first encounter -with an SSG. Because of this, I was a bit impatient with Hugo, and hit -a wall every time I came across any sort of complexity. I also got -frustrated with how themes never follow a consistent template; each -does something different, with different elements, and so each one -effectively has different rules. In the end, I published a blog post -or two on GitHub pages using this setup. It was passable, but in the -end configuring it still felt wonky and cargo-culted. - -Another reason for why I didn't have success with Hugo was my use of -`ox-hugo`. It's a fun package, and you can tell the author put a *lot* -of love into it. However, using Org Mode as a middleman between you -and Hugo obfuscates the nature of Hugo, something I'm realizing now as -I go deeper into using Eleventy. - - -# Eleventy: The Soup Actually Tastes Good - -I went ahead and did a little bit of "shopping" for SSGs. I ran into -[Eleventy](https://www.11ty.dev). I watched the author's [intro video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzf9A9tkkl4), and -immediately took a liking to it. After a few false starts, I cloned -their [official starter project](https://github.com/11ty/eleventy-base-blog), tweaked it here and there, and -the rest is what you're currently looking at. - -A huge shift in my thinking which made the leap from Hugo to Eleventy -possible occurred when I learned to stop worrying and love the -Markdown. - -I used to think of Markdown as an icky, second-rate version of Org -Mode. Then, I eventually got the hang of writing Markdown using Emacs' -`markdown-mode` package, which is a [masterpiece](https://jblevins.org/projects/markdown-mode/) of a plugin: it -makes the experience of writing Markdown rival that of using Org, and -smoothes out a lot of Markdown's pain points (significant whitespace, -noisy links, etc.) And so I slowly let go of the attachment of using -Org Mode in all the things, and embraced the idea of writing blog -posts directly in Markdown; this also alleviated the complexity of -sundry issues arising from exporting from Org to Markdown. - -At first, Eleventy looks like a deceptively complex pile of language -soup: JS, Markdown, templating languages, HTML, and CSS—at times all -occurring within the same file—all somehow live under one -roof. However, tweaking the starter project ended up being a -relatively easy, even pleasant experience. - -# Painless Deployment - -Even deployment is simple. This site's content is version-controlled -locally. I then build the site, then simply `scp` the `_site` -directory to the appropriate directory in my VPS, where this blog is -hosted. The previous remote `_site` directory is simply overwritten -with the new files. I don't need a GitHub workflow, as I did when -using Hugo with GitHub pages; I don't even need to push to a remote -repo. Copying the files suffices. - -# Conclusion - -On the one hand, I'm nowhere near able to make something like the -starter project from scratch. On the other hand, neither am I -daunted. Eleventy in a sense reminds me of Emacs, in that there's a -certain joy to be found in its eclectic complexity. I look forward to -continue using Eleventy as I grow this blog. -- cgit v1.2.3