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POServing php as css/js: Is it fast enough? What drawbacks are there?
 

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  1. POServing php as css/js: Is it fast enough? What drawbacks are there?
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    <p>I've recently started getting into the area of optimizing preformance and load times client side, compressing css/js, gzipping, paying attention to YSlow, etc.</p> <p>I'm wondering, while trying to achieve all these micro-optimizations, what are the pros and cons of serving php files as css or javascript?</p> <p>I'm not entirely sure where the bottleneck is, if there is one. I would assume that between an identical css and php file, the "pure" css file would be slightly faster simply because it doesn't need to parse php code. However, in a php file you can have more control over headers which may be more important(?).</p> <p>Currently I'm doing a <code>filemtime()</code> check on a "trigger" file, and with some php voodoo writing a single compressed css file from it, combined with several other files in a defined group. This creates a file like <code>css/groupname/301469778.css</code>, which the php template catches and updates the html tags with the new file name. It seemed like the safest method, but I don't really like the server cache getting filled up with junk css files after several edits. I also don't bother doing this for small "helper" css files that are only loaded for certain pages.</p> <ul> <li>If 99% of my output is generated by php anyways, what's the harm (if any) by using php to directly output css/js content? (assuming there are no php errors)</li> <li>If using php, is it a good idea to <code>mod_rewrite</code> the files to use the css/js extension for any edge cases of browser misinterpretation? Can't hurt? Not needed?</li> <li>Are there any separate guidelines/methods for css and javascript? I would assume that they would be equal.</li> <li>Which is faster: A single css file with several <code>@imports</code>, or a php file with several <code>readfile()</code> calls?</li> <li>What other ways does using php affect speed?</li> <li>Once the file is cached in the browser, does it make a difference anymore?</li> </ul> <p>I would prefer to use php with .htaccess because it is much simpler, but in the end I will use whatever method is best.</p>
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    1. COI am curious why you need common headers in CSS or JavaScript files. I seldom see CSS/JS files needing modifications when served to the client. Most of PHP I see used on HTML files, even for certain id's or config variables used by your JavaScript code is usually inserted into the HTML files instead of touching the JavaScript files.
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      1. USStephen Chung
    2. COUnless you are only adding headers, mucking with JS files will prevent you from minifying or optimizing them using minifiers, optimizers and compilers. For CSS, depending on the dynamic elements you need to add (that's why you need PHP), you may be preventing compacting the CSS files as well. You're losing way more than just the overhead of using PHP.
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      1. USStephen Chung
    3. CO@Stephen Chung: Putting the js/css directly in the html source means it cannot be cached separately from the html document. I was also wondering if using php to set headers like expires and last mod time by "wrapping" it in php was a good idea. I'm not clear on what you mean by "mucking with files prevents you from minifying them". If I send the file's output to the minifier it should not make a difference.
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      1. USWesley Murch
 

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