Recently, there has been an interesting trend in modern tooling: moving work from runtime to compile time to improve performance.
We can see this direction in multiple tools:
- Vite 8 now moving toward Rolldown built by Rust
- Continuous improvements in Inertia.js
- A new idea around Laravel Blade components called Blaze
In this article, we'll explore the idea behind Blaze and why it could improve Blade component rendering.
First: How Blade Works
Before talking about Blaze, we need to remember how Laravel Blade works.
In Laravel, Blade is a templating engine that allows developers to write directives such as:
@if ($condition)
<p>Hello</p>
@endif
But HTML does not understand @if or @php.
So the first time a page is loaded, Laravel runs the Blade compiler which transforms Blade directives into plain PHP:
<?php if ($condition) { ?>
<p>Hello</p>
<?php } ?>
After compilation, Laravel stores the compiled result inside:
storage/framework/views
So the next time the page is requested, Laravel simply loads the compiled PHP file instead of recompiling the Blade template.
When Blade Files Grow
Imagine your dashboard.blade.php becomes larger and contains multiple UI parts:
- Charts
- Employee attendance
- Calendar
- Widgets
You will most likely start using Blade components.
<x-charts :data="$data" />
When Laravel encounters this component, it resolves it internally. A simplified version of the process looks like this:
Request
→ Create Component
→ Render View
→ Return HTML
This process happens during runtime. If your page contains many components, this repeated rendering can introduce some overhead.
Enter Blaze
Blaze is not a replacement for Blade. Instead, it aims to optimize how Blade components are rendered.
The key idea behind Blaze is something similar to folding and compilation. Instead of repeatedly rendering components during runtime, Blaze analyzes the component structure first.
Building an AST
Blaze breaks the component into nodes and constructs something similar to an AST (Abstract Syntax Tree). This is similar to how frameworks like Vue.js analyze templates.
Component
├─ HTML Node
├─ Attribute Node
└─ Child Component
Once the structure is analyzed, Blaze can optimize and cache the result.
Generating a Function
Instead of recreating the component logic every request, Blaze generates a function representing the compiled component.
Compile Component
→ Generate Function
→ Cache Function
Then when the page renders:
Call Function
→ Return HTML
Three Possible Component Scenarios
Blaze handles components in three main ways.
First time execution
Call function
→ Execute
→ Return HTML
Repeated component usage
Return cached result
Static components
If the component is fully static (for example, an icon component), Blaze can skip compilation and directly return the HTML.
Simplified Blaze Flow
Compile
→ Generate Function
→ Call Function
→ Return HTML
The core idea is simple: move work from runtime to compile time.
A Broader Trend in Modern Tooling
This idea is not unique to Blaze. Many modern tools are moving in this direction:
- Rust-based compilers
- Faster bundlers
- More aggressive compile-time optimization
For example:
- Vite adopting Rolldown
- Faster compilation pipelines
- Smaller runtime cost
Final Thoughts
Blaze introduces an interesting direction for improving Blade component rendering. By shifting more work into compile time, it may reduce the runtime overhead caused by repeatedly rendering components.
This approach aligns with a broader trend across modern developer tooling.
In the next article, we'll explore Vite and Rolldown and why the ecosystem is increasingly moving toward Rust-based tooling.
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