Sprockets
Sprockets is a Ruby-based asset pipeline tool that preprocesses, concatenates, and minifies JavaScript, CSS, and other static assets for web applications. It is commonly integrated with Ruby on Rails to manage asset dependencies and improve performance by serving optimized files. Sprockets handles tasks like compiling CoffeeScript or Sass, fingerprinting assets for caching, and organizing assets in a structured manner.
Developers should learn Sprockets when working on Ruby on Rails projects to streamline asset management and enhance front-end performance. It is particularly useful for applications with complex asset dependencies, as it automates preprocessing and reduces manual effort in bundling files. Use cases include building scalable web apps where efficient asset loading and caching are critical for user experience.