The CSS rule that is determined to have the nearest bounding class will emerge victorious

Question

The CSS rule that is determined to have the nearest bounding class will emerge victorious

Imagine this interesting situation in HTML:

<div class="red">
     <div class="blue">
         ... <-- maybe more nested parents
             <div class="x">Test</div>
     </div>
</div>

If we consider the following CSS:

.blue.x, .blue .x {
  background: blue;
}
.red.x, .red .x {
  background: red;
}

In this instance, the background of the x element will unquestionably be red. This is because both rules apply, and the red background was defined last.

But how can we create a rule to ensure that the inner "blue" class (the closer parent to x) takes precedence? The goal is to alter the color based on the class structure, rather than the order in which the rules appear in the CSS file.

html css css-selectors

Answer 1

Answer №1

After analyzing the provided HTML, one possible solution is to utilize the direct child selector, >, to target the directly nested .x element.

.blue.x,
.blue > .x {
  background: blue;
}
.red.x,
.red > .x {
  background: red;
}

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

However, it's important to note that this approach may not work if the .x element is nested further down the hierarchy. To address this limitation, a workaround can be implemented:

.blue.x,
.blue > .x,
.blue > * > .x {
  background: blue;
}
.red.x,
.red > .x,
.red > * > .x {
  background: red;
}

<div class="red">
  <div class="blue">
    <div>
      <div class="x">Blue</div>
    </div>
  </div>
</div>
  
<div class="blue">
  <div class="red">
    <div>
      <div class="x">Red</div>
    </div>
  </div>
</div>

If the previous solutions are too rigid for your needs, an alternative method involves inheriting the value from the nearest parent element:

.blue,
.blue.x {
  background: blue;
}
.blue * .x {
  background: inherit;
}
.red,
.red.x {
  background: red;
}
.red * .x {
  background: inherit;
}

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

<div class="blue">
  <div class="red">
    <section>
      <div>
        <div>
          <div>
            <div class="x">Red</div>
          </div>
        </div>
      </div>
    </section>
  </div>
</div>

Answer 2

After analyzing the provided HTML, one possible solution is to utilize the direct child selector, >, to target the directly nested .x element.

.blue.x,
.blue > .x {
  background: blue;
}
.red.x,
.red > .x {
  background: red;
}

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

However, it's important to note that this approach may not work if the .x element is nested further down the hierarchy. To address this limitation, a workaround can be implemented:

.blue.x,
.blue > .x,
.blue > * > .x {
  background: blue;
}
.red.x,
.red > .x,
.red > * > .x {
  background: red;
}

<div class="red">
  <div class="blue">
    <div>
      <div class="x">Blue</div>
    </div>
  </div>
</div>
  
<div class="blue">
  <div class="red">
    <div>
      <div class="x">Red</div>
    </div>
  </div>
</div>

If the previous solutions are too rigid for your needs, an alternative method involves inheriting the value from the nearest parent element:

.blue,
.blue.x {
  background: blue;
}
.blue * .x {
  background: inherit;
}
.red,
.red.x {
  background: red;
}
.red * .x {
  background: inherit;
}

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

<div class="blue">
  <div class="red">
    <section>
      <div>
        <div>
          <div>
            <div class="x">Red</div>
          </div>
        </div>
      </div>
    </section>
  </div>
</div>

The CSS rule that is determined to have the nearest bounding class will emerge victorious

Answer №1

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