How to create ExtJS 4 themes without using Compass and SASS?

Question

I want to create custom themes for ExtJS 4 based application. I read ExtJS documentation and found out that we need to install Ruby, Compass and SASS to create custom themes.

As I am not sure whether my client (and my employer too) will allow me to install these 3 tools, I would like to know whether its possible to create custom themes without using these tools?

Thanks in Advance !

Answer 1

Is it possible? Yes. Without SASS, you can still apply any custom styling you need using plain CSS. You'd include the default ExtJS stylesheets on your webpage, and then use custom stylesheets to override whatever styles you need to.

Is it preferable? No. Depending on the extent of the theming changes you're looking to make, using pure CSS is likely to be tedious and troublesome. Using SASS/Compass allows you to use the variables and mixins provided by ExtJS for theming, which is much faster and easier than trying to do it by hand. In addition, the CSS files generated by SASS will be minified, and won't contain the extra CSS bloat you'd end up with trying to do it all manually.

My recommendation: try hard to convince your employer to allow you to use SASS. It will be well worth it if they do. And remember: Ruby, SASS, and Compass are only needed for development, since your SASS files will be compiled into CSS before being included on the webpage. Your client shouldn't need anything extra (other than a browser) to access the ExtJS application. If your employer is really stubborn about installing Ruby, you may have no choice but to create your theme in CSS by hand. But that's likely to be a long, frustrating experience.