LESS Hackery

example.less

// Allows specifying default variables in LESS

// Some really sneaky shit that will shoot me in the foot if
// LESS changes too much...
@--lol: ~`"" + ( root._less = root._less || this )`;
@--lol: ~`"" + ( root.getLessVar = function (name) { return root._less[name] ? root._less[name].toJS() : '' } )`;
@--lol: ~`"" + ( root.getLessVarDefault = function (name, def) { return root.getLessVar(name) !== '' ? root.getLessVar(name) : root.getLessVar(def) } )`;

// Example:
//
// If we were to set the variable `@override-variable` here, then `@variable`
// would be set to that value instead.
//
@default-variable: 1200px;
@variable: ~`root.getLessVarDefault('override-variable', 'default-variable')`;

// There are problems with this approach, but they relate to problems with
// calculation. See https://github.com/cloudhead/less.js/issues/816 for
// more info.