Getting Started with the Closure Compiler Application
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The Hello World of the Closure Compiler Application
The Closure Compiler application is a Java command-line utility that
compresses, optimizes, and looks for mistakes in your JavaScript. To
try out the Closure Compiler application with a simple JavaScript
program, follow the steps below.
To work through this exercise you need the Java Runtime Environment
version 7.
-
Download the Closure Compiler package
Create a working directory called closure-compiler.
Download the most recently released JAR file from the
Maven repository, and
save it in closure-compiler.
-
Create a JavaScript file
Create a file named hello.js containing the following
JavaScript:
// A simple function.
function hello(longName) {
alert('Hello, ' + longName);
}
hello('New User');
Save this file in the closure-compiler directory.
-
Compile the JavaScript file
Run the following command from
the closure-compiler directory:
java -jar compiler.jar --js hello.js --js_output_file hello-compiled.js
This command creates a new file
called hello-compiled.js, which contains the following
JavaScript:
function hello(a){alert("Hello, "+a)}hello("New User");
Note that the compiler has stripped comments, whitespace and an
unnecessary semi-colon. The compiler has also replaced the parameter
name longName with the shorter name a. The
result is a much smaller JavaScript file.
To confirm that the compiled JavaScript code still works correctly,
include hello-compiled.js in an HTML file like this
one:
<html>
<head><title>Hello World</title></head>
<body>
<script src="hello-compiled.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
Load the HTML file in a browser, and you should see a friendly greeting!
Next Steps
This example illustrates only the most simple optimizations
performed by the Closure Compiler. To learn more about the
compiler's capabilities, read Advanced
Compilation and Externs.
To learn more about other flags and options for the Closure
Compiler, execute the jar with the --help flag:
java -jar compiler.jar --help
Except as otherwise noted, the content of this page is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License, and code samples are licensed under the Apache 2.0 License. For details, see the Google Developers Site Policies. Java is a registered trademark of Oracle and/or its affiliates.
Last updated 2023-10-25 UTC.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Missing the information I need","missingTheInformationINeed","thumb-down"],["Too complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2023-10-25 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003eThe Closure Compiler is a Java command-line tool used to compress, optimize, and debug JavaScript code.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThis guide provides a basic example of using the Closure Compiler to minify a simple "Hello World" JavaScript function.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe compiler removes unnecessary elements like comments and whitespace, shortens variable names, and produces a smaller, more efficient JavaScript file.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eYou can confirm the functionality of the compiled code by including it in an HTML file and loading it in a browser.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],[],null,["# Getting Started with the Closure Compiler Application\n\nThe Hello World of the Closure Compiler Application\n---------------------------------------------------\n\n\nThe Closure Compiler application is a Java command-line utility that\ncompresses, optimizes, and looks for mistakes in your JavaScript. To\ntry out the Closure Compiler application with a simple JavaScript\nprogram, follow the steps below.\n\n\nTo work through this exercise you need the Java Runtime Environment\nversion 7.\n\n1. **Download the Closure Compiler package**\n\n\n Create a working directory called `closure-compiler`.\n\n\n Download the most recently released JAR file from the\n [Maven repository](https://mvnrepository.com/artifact/com.google.javascript/closure-compiler), and\n save it in `closure-compiler`.\n2. **Create a JavaScript file**\n\n\n Create a file named `hello.js` containing the following\n JavaScript: \n\n ```carbon\n // A simple function.\n function hello(longName) {\n alert('Hello, ' + longName);\n }\n hello('New User');\n ```\n\n\n Save this file in the `closure-compiler` directory.\n3. **Compile the JavaScript file**\n\n\n Run the following command from\n the `closure-compiler` directory: \n\n ```\n java -jar compiler.jar --js hello.js --js_output_file hello-compiled.js\n ```\n\n\n This command creates a new file\n called `hello-compiled.js`, which contains the following\n JavaScript: \n\n ```text\n function hello(a){alert(\"Hello, \"+a)}hello(\"New User\");\n ```\n\n\n Note that the compiler has stripped comments, whitespace and an\n unnecessary semi-colon. The compiler has also replaced the parameter\n name `longName` with the shorter name `a`. The\n result is a much smaller JavaScript file.\n\n\n To confirm that the compiled JavaScript code still works correctly,\n include `hello-compiled.js` in an HTML file like this\n one: \n\n ```text\n \u003chtml\u003e\n \u003chead\u003e\u003ctitle\u003eHello World\u003c/title\u003e\u003c/head\u003e\n \u003cbody\u003e\n \u003cscript src=\"hello-compiled.js\"\u003e\u003c/script\u003e\n \u003c/body\u003e\n \u003c/html\u003e\n ```\n\n\n Load the HTML file in a browser, and you should see a friendly greeting!\n\n### Next Steps\n\n\nThis example illustrates only the most simple optimizations\nperformed by the Closure Compiler. To learn more about the\ncompiler's capabilities, read [Advanced\nCompilation and Externs](/closure/compiler/docs/api-tutorial3).\n\n\nTo learn more about other flags and options for the Closure\nCompiler, execute the jar with the `--help` flag: \n\n```\njava -jar compiler.jar --help\n```"]]