How is it that styling is still being applied at the top even though media queries do not impact specificity?

Question

How is it that styling is still being applied at the top even though media queries do not impact specificity?

Using this particular design

div {
  @media (min-width: 0px) {
     color: blue;
  }
  color: red;
}

<div>
hello
</div>

I anticipate the color to appear as red. Nevertheless, it is displaying as blue and I cannot fathom why. Tested on Chrome. The color remains red in alternative browsers.

css

Answer 1

Answer №1

The reason behind this behavior is the way the nested @rule gets unwrapped:

@rule {
  & {
    /* ... */
  }
}

This concept is elaborated in this section of the specifications and even includes an illustrative example highlighting this scenario:

.foo {
  display: grid;

  @media (orientation: landscape) {
    grid-auto-flow: column;
  }
}
/* can be rewritten as
  .foo {
    display: grid;

    @media (orientation: landscape) {
      & {
        grid-auto-flow: column;
      }
    }
  }
*/

If we include the & selector in the color: red rule, it results in the same level of specificity:

div {
  @media (min-width: 0px) {
     color: blue;
  }
  & { color: red; }
}

<div>
hello
</div>

It's important to note that your code will render in red on non-Chromium browsers due to lack of support for CSS nesting. In such cases, these browsers consider the @media rule invalid and focus on parsing the div rule instead.
To ensure compatibility across all browsers, you'll need to manually unwrap these rules:

@media (min-width: 0px) {
  div { color: blue; }
}
div {
  color: red;
}

<div>
hello<!-- will be styled in red universally -->
</div>

Answer 2

The reason behind this behavior is the way the nested @rule gets unwrapped:

@rule {
  & {
    /* ... */
  }
}

This concept is elaborated in this section of the specifications and even includes an illustrative example highlighting this scenario:

.foo {
  display: grid;

  @media (orientation: landscape) {
    grid-auto-flow: column;
  }
}
/* can be rewritten as
  .foo {
    display: grid;

    @media (orientation: landscape) {
      & {
        grid-auto-flow: column;
      }
    }
  }
*/

If we include the & selector in the color: red rule, it results in the same level of specificity:

div {
  @media (min-width: 0px) {
     color: blue;
  }
  & { color: red; }
}

<div>
hello
</div>

It's important to note that your code will render in red on non-Chromium browsers due to lack of support for CSS nesting. In such cases, these browsers consider the @media rule invalid and focus on parsing the div rule instead.
To ensure compatibility across all browsers, you'll need to manually unwrap these rules:

@media (min-width: 0px) {
  div { color: blue; }
}
div {
  color: red;
}

<div>
hello<!-- will be styled in red universally -->
</div>

Answer 3

Answer №2

To further elaborate on your issue, let me provide another example:

div {
  & {
    color: blue;
  }
  color: red;
}

<div>
  hello
</div>

The concept of "nested rules" and "declarations" can sometimes be confusing, but according to the Specification, the browser will interpret them by placing the "nested rules" at the end.

Therefore, your original code will be reordered like this:

div {
  color: red;
  & {
    color: blue;
  }
}

<div>
  hello
</div>

Eventually, it will be structured as follows:

div {
  color: red;
}

div {
  color: blue;
}

<div>
  hello
</div>

Remember, always organize your code with "declarations" first before adding any "nested rules."

Answer 4

To further elaborate on your issue, let me provide another example:

div {
  & {
    color: blue;
  }
  color: red;
}

<div>
  hello
</div>

The concept of "nested rules" and "declarations" can sometimes be confusing, but according to the Specification, the browser will interpret them by placing the "nested rules" at the end.

Therefore, your original code will be reordered like this:

div {
  color: red;
  & {
    color: blue;
  }
}

<div>
  hello
</div>

Eventually, it will be structured as follows:

div {
  color: red;
}

div {
  color: blue;
}

<div>
  hello
</div>

Remember, always organize your code with "declarations" first before adding any "nested rules."

How is it that styling is still being applied at the top even though media queries do not impact specificity?

Answer №1

Answer №2

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