"Debunking the traditional class assignment concept: What happens when two different classes

Question

"Debunking the traditional class assignment concept: What happens when two different classes

While working on creating a <div> element for a thumbnail gallery, I encountered a situation where I needed to apply two different classes to the <div>. One class was for positioning and the other for styling. However, when I tried to combine the classes, the styling results were unexpected and led me to ponder a question.

Is it possible to assign two classes to a <div> element? And if so, which class takes precedence over the other or has a higher priority?

class css html

Answer 1

Answer №1

When assigning multiple classes to a div, you can separate them by spaces within the class attribute like this:

<div class="class1 class2 class3">Content</div>

The div will then apply style rules for each of the three different class selectors: .class1, .class2, and .class3.

CSS rules are executed on elements that match their selectors in the sequence they appear in the style sheet. In case of a conflict between two rules trying to define the same attribute, CSS specificity determines which rule takes precedence.

If conflicting rules have the same CSS specificity, the one defined later in the stylesheet or in a subsequent stylesheet will prevail. The order of class names on the element itself doesn't affect this - it's the order of style rules in the stylesheet that matters in such cases.

For example, with styles like:

.class1 {
    background-color: green;
}

.class2 {
    background-color: red;
}

Both rules match the div and have equal CSS specificity, so the second rule would take precedence, resulting in a red background.

If one rule has higher CSS specificity (div.class1 ranking higher than .class2):

div.class1 {
    background-color: green;
}

.class2 {
    background-color: red;
}

The higher specificity rule will take precedence, making the background color green in this case.

If the two rules do not conflict:

.class1 {
    background-color: green;
}

.class2 {
    margin-top: 50px;
}

Both rules will be applied without any issues.

Answer 2

When assigning multiple classes to a div, you can separate them by spaces within the class attribute like this:

<div class="class1 class2 class3">Content</div>

The div will then apply style rules for each of the three different class selectors: .class1, .class2, and .class3.

CSS rules are executed on elements that match their selectors in the sequence they appear in the style sheet. In case of a conflict between two rules trying to define the same attribute, CSS specificity determines which rule takes precedence.

If conflicting rules have the same CSS specificity, the one defined later in the stylesheet or in a subsequent stylesheet will prevail. The order of class names on the element itself doesn't affect this - it's the order of style rules in the stylesheet that matters in such cases.

For example, with styles like:

.class1 {
    background-color: green;
}

.class2 {
    background-color: red;
}

Both rules match the div and have equal CSS specificity, so the second rule would take precedence, resulting in a red background.

If one rule has higher CSS specificity (div.class1 ranking higher than .class2):

div.class1 {
    background-color: green;
}

.class2 {
    background-color: red;
}

The higher specificity rule will take precedence, making the background color green in this case.

If the two rules do not conflict:

.class1 {
    background-color: green;
}

.class2 {
    margin-top: 50px;
}

Both rules will be applied without any issues.

Answer 3

Answer №2

Interestingly, the last class defined in the CSS will be the one applied to your div.

Take a look at this:

Red is defined last in the CSS

.blue{ color: blue; }
.red { color: red;  }

<div class="blue red">blue red</div>
<div class="red blue">red blue</div>

compared to

Blue is defined last in the CSS

.red { color: red;  }
.blue{ color: blue; }

<div class="blue red">blue red</div>
<div class="red blue">red blue</div>

Answer 4

Interestingly, the last class defined in the CSS will be the one applied to your div.

Take a look at this:

Red is defined last in the CSS

.blue{ color: blue; }
.red { color: red;  }

<div class="blue red">blue red</div>
<div class="red blue">red blue</div>

compared to

Blue is defined last in the CSS

.red { color: red;  }
.blue{ color: blue; }

<div class="blue red">blue red</div>
<div class="red blue">red blue</div>

Answer 5

Answer №3

If you're wondering about whether two CSS properties are the same, the last statement will take precedence according to the CSS rule.

<div class="red green"></div>

CSS

.red{
 color:red;
}
.green{
 color:green;
}

In the example above, the last statement, .green, will be applied according to the CSS hierarchy.

Answer 6

If you're wondering about whether two CSS properties are the same, the last statement will take precedence according to the CSS rule.

<div class="red green"></div>

CSS

.red{
 color:red;
}
.green{
 color:green;
}

In the example above, the last statement, .green, will be applied according to the CSS hierarchy.

Answer 7

Answer №4

When it comes to styling elements with CSS, the class that is defined last takes priority over others.

For more insight on how CSS priority works, check out this helpful resource on understanding CSS priority order.

Answer 8

When it comes to styling elements with CSS, the class that is defined last takes priority over others.

For more insight on how CSS priority works, check out this helpful resource on understanding CSS priority order.

Answer 9

Answer №5

Elements can have multiple classes assigned to them by simply separating them with a space

<div class="myClass aSecondClass keepOnClassing stayClassySanDiego"></div>

When it comes to CSS, the rules that are closest to the bottom of the document will take precedence and be applied to the element.

For example, if you have:

.myClass
{
    background: white;
    color: blue;
}

.keepOnClassing
{
    color: red;
}

The text will appear in red, but the background color will remain white as it was not overwritten.

Additionally, CSS specificity is important to consider - a more specific selector will take precedence over a less specific one:

.myClass
{
    background: white;
    color: blue;
}

div.myClass.keepOnClassing
{
    background: purple;
    color: red;
}

.stayClassySanDiego
{
    background: black;
}

In this case, the second selector will be applied because it is more specific.

You can view an example here.

Answer 10

Elements can have multiple classes assigned to them by simply separating them with a space

<div class="myClass aSecondClass keepOnClassing stayClassySanDiego"></div>

When it comes to CSS, the rules that are closest to the bottom of the document will take precedence and be applied to the element.

For example, if you have:

.myClass
{
    background: white;
    color: blue;
}

.keepOnClassing
{
    color: red;
}

The text will appear in red, but the background color will remain white as it was not overwritten.

Additionally, CSS specificity is important to consider - a more specific selector will take precedence over a less specific one:

.myClass
{
    background: white;
    color: blue;
}

div.myClass.keepOnClassing
{
    background: purple;
    color: red;
}

.stayClassySanDiego
{
    background: black;
}

In this case, the second selector will be applied because it is more specific.

You can view an example here.

"Debunking the traditional class assignment concept: What happens when two different classes

Answer №1

Answer №2

Red is defined last in the CSS

Blue is defined last in the CSS

Answer №3

Answer №4

Answer №5

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