Java Compiler for Less CSS?

Question

I am looking for Java-based Less CSS compilers. On Github, I have stumbled across

• lesscss4j
• lesscss-java

Both are from the same develop

Answer 1

JLessC is an alternative less compiler. It is pure Java and does not use any JavaScript engine. The main target is use together with Bootstrap. It is very fast.

Answer 2

lesscss4j is a Java compiler, written with ANTLR. While this will be faster, the problem is that you need to synchronise it with the official lesscss compiler which is in javascript. This project hasn't been touched for 2 years. Lesscss-java is a wrapper around the official compiler and is running in Rhino JS engine. It used by the popular Lesscss-maven-plugin.

Answer 3

The Official LESS CSS Compiler for Java is pretty nice, too. It's in Maven Central, is thread safe (so performance is pretty good), and it's got an easy to use interface.

Answer 4

If you are working with atlassian plugins and in addition to the already mentioned lesscss-maven-plugin you might also have a look at a (non-open-sourced) derivate from atlassian repository https://maven.atlassian.com/content/repositories/atlassian-public

<plugin>
    <groupId>com.atlassian.lesscss</groupId>
    <artifactId>lesscss-maven-plugin</artifactId>
</plugin>

Answer 5

LESS Engine wraps the javascript compiler in a straight-forward Java interface.

I haven't used lesscss-java, so I can't comment on relative quality, but in the small tasks I've needed, I've had no complaints with Less Engine.

Answer 6

LessCSS Compiler - compatible with version 1.7.5. The library is based on the official Less JavaScript compiler adapted to the Rhino engine.

It supports sources located at:

• local drives
• protocols:
  • HTTP and HTTPS
  • FTP (requires Apache Commons Net library in the class path) & class path (prefix classpath://)
  • custom - defined by programmers (see FileSystem)

The library requires Java 8.