Minify fails with escaped less code

[robertdodd]

I want to use escaped text in my less code:

.timeline {
    width: e("calc(100% - 90px)");
}

But because css is minified using less:clean-css, the code in bootstrap.css gets calculated again and comes out in bootstrap.min.css as:

.timeline {
    width: 10%;
}

I thought of telling the less:minify task in the gruntfile to use the original bootstrap.less file as the source, but then it loses out on the autoprefixer and csscomb tasks that usually run on the css beforehand.

Any ideas on how to overcome this?

[cvrebert]

Sounds like a possible clean-css bug.
CC: @XhmikosR

[XhmikosR]

I can't reproduce the issue with clean-css 2.1.8:

.timeline{width:e("calc(100% - 90px)")}

So it must be less that's causing this.

[seven-phases-max]

So it must be less that's causing this.

Not really a Less fault. I looked at Gruntfile.js and the minify task is looking at least strange there. Does not it compile already compiled css as less code for the second time? If so then @robertdodd 's result is expected since the first run (less-compile) compiles e("calc(100% - 90px)"); to calc(100% - 90px); and the second run (less:minify) compiles calc(100% - 90px); to calc(10px); since no --strict-math option set for this task. I guess this particular issue can be overcome by adding strictMath: true to the less:minify task, but yet again, the task itself is very questionable (Less is not really 100% compatible with CSS so such "double compilation" just opens a can of worms).

[XhmikosR]

Not really a clean-css fault, that was my point.

Personally, I don't like Less' approach with its built in clean-css, and I wasn't the one who added that so I don't know if it's done right or not.

[seven-phases-max]

Not really a clean-css fault

Yes, of course.

---

I guess the proper solution would be to reassign the minification of those css files from the less task to the cssmin task.

[XhmikosR]

@seven-phases-max: feel free to make a PR for that.

[XhmikosR]

Fixed in #13624

[robertdodd]

Awesome, I'm glad to have helped, thanks for merging!