Sass and HSS are pretty cool tools. They are extensions to CSS that allows you to use variables, arithmetic, nested rules and other goodies in your stylesheets.

To make this work, both tools use a compiler to transform the Sass and HSS file contents into valid CSS which will work in a browser.

Running the compiler on each file change when developing a site is a tedious task to do manually, so I patched together a simple Ruby script to do it for me. In the interest of karma, here’s that script for you to use as you see fit.

The script can esentially be used in any situation where some files must be observed, and a command run whenever they are changed (saved), be it compiling, compressing, running tests or validation.

• Put the script file in your CSS directory. The script will monitor both that directory and any subdirectories when started.
• Change the configuration options at the top of the script, depending on which tool you are using: Sass, HSS or something else.
• Whenever you are working on your files, have the script running in the background. Start it by running ruby monitor.rb.

Now, whenever you save changes to your Sass or HSS files, the corresponding CSS files will be recompiled from their respective sources. The script will also recompile all observed files at the moment it is started.

That’s it! You can now use the CSS extension tool of your choice, while still retaining the sweet ability to refresh your browser to instantly see any changes, all without any annoying extra steps in the process.

Download the script

Blueprint has had an amazing run so far. Even from the get go, the popularity surpassed anything I could ever have imagined. Dominating the top spots at Delicious, reaching the front pages of both Digg and Reddit, being featured on sites such as Wired, Ajaxian, Daring Fireball, Subtraction and countless others, the numbers speak for themselves.

Where did all this hype come from? The fact is, it took quite a few months until Blueprint was able to deliver on all its promises, and the initial implementation was far from perfect. But the hype remained nonetheless.

I have my own theories on how the, at times, unjustified hype came to be: The enticing coupling of the words “framework” and “CSS”, the void left by having no viable, light-weight competitor to Yahoo UI, and being based on thorough work by industry leaders such as Jeff Croft. All this certainly helped more than any brilliant CSS solutions ever could have.

Either way, here we are. Blueprint is at sort of a crossroad. Should we be happy with what we have, or has the time come to really ramp up development and aim to deliver on all the expectations the now fading hype has come to expect of us?

The Blueprint community has grown exceptionally fast. Inversely, my available time for developing the framework and nurturing the community has diminished. The community has continued to grow and has come to expect a lot more than what has been delivered. This is the problem that presents itself when a project grows faster and reaches more people than you could ever have imagined: You have no way to keep working at the same pace to keep the project at this level for a long stretch of time.

But this is also the beauty of open source: I have done what I can for Blueprint for the time being, and while I’ll still be a vocal part of the community, the time has come to pass the torch.

It’s time for someone else to maintain the project, so that all the brilliant minds who wish to contribute actually get a chance to have their say. Blueprint could be so much more than it is today, and with a few new guys running the show, I’m certain the framework can reach even the high goals set up by the earlier hype.

So here we go. For the time being, the new maintainers of Blueprint are:

• Christian Montoya
• Joshua Clayton
• Chris Eppstein
• Glenn Rempe

They are great guys, who have been working on Blueprint for a long time now. If anyone can take the framework to the next level, they can. The new site, with links to all relevant sources can be found at blueprintcss.org.

As mentioned, I’ll still be around, helping out, and if the time comes, I’ll be back on the front lines developing the framework. But from now on, these are the people to contact and look to for any news and developments on Blueprint. Best of luck to all of them!