Preface

Hey there! I'm Caen, creator of HydePHP. Whilst trying out the new ChatGPT version powered by GPT-4o I asked it to tell me about HydePHP. To my surprise, it actually knew about the project. Below is the entire unedited output from the model, proofread by me to ensure that everything is accurate - which it actually is! Enjoy.

HydePHP: Static Site Generator

Tell me about HydePHP

HydePHP is a modern static site generator (SSG) for the PHP ecosystem, designed to create static websites and documentation with ease. It is inspired by Jekyll (a popular static site generator in the Ruby ecosystem) and is tailored for developers who are comfortable with PHP and want a streamlined tool for generating static sites. Here are some key features and aspects of HydePHP:

Key Features

1. PHP-Based:

   • HydePHP leverages the PHP language, making it a natural choice for PHP developers. It allows for the creation of dynamic, component-based content within a static site context.

2. Markdown Support:

   • It supports Markdown files for content creation, which is ideal for documentation and blogs. Markdown is a lightweight markup language with plain text formatting syntax, making it easy to write and read.

3. Blade Templating:

   • HydePHP uses Blade, Laravel’s templating engine, for designing layouts and templates. Blade is powerful and expressive, enabling developers to create complex templates with ease.

4. Static Site Generation:

   • As an SSG, HydePHP generates static HTML files from your content and templates. This results in faster load times and better security compared to dynamic sites, as there are no server-side processes during page load.

5. Customization and Extensibility:

   • The system is designed to be flexible and extensible. Developers can customize the build process and add functionality through plugins and extensions.

6. Built-in Asset Management:

   • HydePHP includes tools for managing assets like CSS, JavaScript, and images, ensuring they are correctly included in the generated site.

7. Documentation Focus:

   • While suitable for various types of websites, HydePHP is particularly well-suited for documentation sites. It provides features that cater to the needs of documenting projects, including versioning and syntax highlighting for code blocks.

Getting Started with HydePHP

To start using HydePHP, you typically need to follow these steps:

1. Installation:

   • Install HydePHP via Composer, PHP's package manager. The command usually looks something like:

    composer create-project hyde/hyde
   

2. Project Setup:

   • Set up your project directory structure, which includes folders for content (Markdown files), layouts (Blade templates), and assets (CSS, JavaScript, images).

3. Configuration:

   • Configure HydePHP using a configuration file where you can set options like site title, URL, and theme settings.

4. Writing Content:

   • Create Markdown files for your pages and posts. You can organize your content into directories for better structure.

5. Templates and Layouts:

   • Use Blade to create templates and layouts. Define components and sections that can be reused across different pages.

6. Build and Serve:

   • Generate the static site by running the build command. Serve the site locally to test and preview your changes before deploying.

7. Deployment:

   • Deploy the generated static files to a web server or a static site hosting service like GitHub Pages, Netlify, or Vercel.

Community and Ecosystem

HydePHP has a growing community of developers who contribute to its development and create plugins to extend its functionality. The project is open-source, and contributions are welcome.

Conclusion

HydePHP offers a powerful and PHP-friendly solution for generating static sites, making it an excellent choice for developers familiar with PHP and Blade. Its focus on ease of use, extensibility, and performance makes it a strong contender in the static site generator space, particularly for documentation sites.