less/less.js

[Feature Proposal] Better-optimized SVG encoding than URL-encoding and base64

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#3105 opened on Sep 22, 2017

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good first issuelow priorityup-for-grabs

Description

I just came across this article which is relevant to Less w/ data-uri encoding: https://codepen.io/tigt/post/optimizing-svgs-in-data-uris

Basically, there was a discussion in the past about base64 vs. URL encoding for SVGs. (See: #2250 and #2184) There are a few additional optimizations in URL encoding that can make the encoding even smaller, as discovered by the research on that article. This is an improvement since URL-encoding by itself can inflate the output greater than base64 encoding.

Contributor guide

Tech stack
javascriptcss
Domain
performancebuild system
Issue type
feature
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
3
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
1-2 days
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
stale
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
clear
Prerequisites
Understanding of Less .data uri() functionKnowledge of URL encoding vs base64Ability to read Less source code
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
40
Research direction
Examine the current data uri encoding implementation in Less's source code (likely in lib/less/functions/data uri.js). Review the discussions in #2250 and #2184 for historical context. Study the techniques described in the linked article (codepen.io/tigt/post/optimizing svgs in data uris) to understand potential optimizations. Implement a new encoding strategy that chooses the most compact representation between URL encoding, base64, and other optimized URL encoding methods, then submit a pull request.