Getting Started

Build dynamic, mobile-first, web experiences with Catalyst.

Catalyst is a robust and flexible design system engineered to accelerate your web development workflow. Although optimized for static HTML/CSS and JavaScript projects, Catalyst's versatility extends to a wide range of applications. From sleek landing pages to sophisticated web applications, Catalyst equips you with the tools and optimizations needed to efficiently transform your vision into a polished, high-performance digital experience.

File Structure

catalyst-main
  • src
    • assets
      • css - Compiled CSS files
      • img - Image files
      • json - JSON files
      • js - Core Javascript and library wrapper files
      • scss - SASS (SCSS) source files
      • svg - SVG files
      • svg-src - SVG source files where variables can be passed (files will be generated into svg folder)
      • vendor - Third pary libraries (plugins)
    • partials - HTML partials, learn more details on Catalyst's Gulp Documentation page
    • snippets - Snippet pages
    • documentation - Documentation pages
    • favicon.ico
    • index.html
    • ...
  • dist - Generated distribution files
  • gulpfiles - Gulp Toolkit files
  • build - Generated performance ready fully production files (by default the folder is not included)
  • node_modules - NPM dependencies (by default the folder is not included)
  • config.js
  • gulpfile.js
  • package-lock.json
  • package.json
  • README.md

Starter template

Starter template is a snippet of code for blank HTML page. Use the below snippet as a way to quickly start any new blank page. If you are using Catalyst's Gulp Toolkit, you may use HTML (Gulp) snippet code (read more about it on Gulp page).

JavaScript structure

Core JavaScript

The foundation of the JavaScript structure in Catalyst is based on one main object which does not change the root when the new functionalities are added, but instead, it only extends without affecting the behavior of the core object. The name of the object is CSCore and the content of this object looks like this:

        
          /*
          * CSCore
          * @version: 1.0.0
          * @author: Cardsite
          * @event-namespace: .CSCore
          * @license: Cardsite Libraries (https://cardsite.com/licenses)
          * Copyright 2024 Cardsite
          */
          'use strict';

          const CSCore = {
            init: () => {
              // Botostrap Tootltips
              var tooltipTriggerList = [].slice.call(document.querySelectorAll('[data-bs-toggle="tooltip"]'))
              var tooltipList = tooltipTriggerList.map(function (tooltipTriggerEl) {
                return new bootstrap.Tooltip(tooltipTriggerEl)
              })

              // Bootstrap Popovers
              var popoverTriggerList = [].slice.call(document.querySelectorAll('[data-bs-toggle="popover"]'))
              var popoverList = popoverTriggerList.map(function (popoverTriggerEl) {
                return new bootstrap.Popover(popoverTriggerEl)
              })
            }
          }

          CSCore.init()

Essentials of CS data-attributes

data-cs-*-options - Using the date-attribute, you can completely specify the settings for all plug-in parameters (except for functions) that are in the official documentation. Special cases will be described in the documentation of the corresponding wrappers/plugins. *- name of the wrapper/plugin.

Parameter names must be enclosed in double quotation marks "". "param": ...

For strings, quotation marks are required. "stringParam": "Test string", "hexParam": "#ff0000"

For numbers, quotation marks are optional. "intParam": 10

For boolean values, quotation marks can lead to not obvious consequences (due to implicit type conversion). It is recommended that you specify Boolean values without quotation marks. "boolParam": true

For arrays and objects - quotation marks can lead to errors, this does not apply to elements of arrays and objects, which can be simple types (see the description for simple types above).

        
          "arrayParam": [1, "Test string", "#ff0000", false, 5],
          "objectParam": {
            "intParam": 1,
            "stringParam": "Test string",
            "hexParam": "#ff0000",
            "boolParam": false,
            "intParam2": 5
          }

Advantages