Question 1

How do I use a custom comparator with gulp-changed?

Accepted Answer

Define a function that takes sourceFile and destinationPath arguments, returning the sourceFile if changed or undefined. The README provides examples, such as comparing file contents or implementing logic for specific dependency checks, and you can import built-in comparators like compareContents for simpler cases.

Question 2

gulp-changed or gulp-cached: which is better for incremental builds?

Accepted Answer

gulp-changed filters files based on changes against a destination directory, ideal for disk-based incremental builds. gulp-cached caches files in memory, suited for watch modes but may not persist across runs; choose gulp-changed for reliable destination comparison and gulp-cached for faster in-memory operations in development.

Question 3

Does gulp-changed work with files that have different source and destination extensions?

Accepted Answer

Yes, use the extension option to specify the destination file extension. For example, when compiling .jade to .html, set extension: '.html' so gulp-changed compares the source .jade files against the destination .html files, ensuring only changed sources are processed.

Question 4

How can I handle file renaming in gulp-changed tasks?

Accepted Answer

Use the transformPath option to map source paths to renamed destination paths. In the README example, for converting .md to .html with a different directory structure, transformPath adjusts the path so gulp-changed correctly compares against the renamed output files.

Question 5

Can gulp-changed track changes in JavaScript imports or dependencies?

Accepted Answer

No, by default it only detects file-level changes. For dependency tracking, you must create a custom comparator that analyzes import statements or use other plugins designed for incremental builds with dependency graphs, as mentioned in the README limitations.

Question 6

Is gulp-changed suitable for image processing in Gulp tasks?

Accepted Answer

Yes, especially with the compareContents comparator, which compares file contents directly and is useful for images where modification time might be unreliable. However, content comparison can be slower for large image files, so consider performance trade-offs.

gulp-changed

What is gulp-changed?

Overview

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Pros & Cons

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Frequently Asked Questions