Utilizing CSS naming conventions to bring order to class inheritance

Question

Utilizing CSS naming conventions to bring order to class inheritance

I'm a bit unclear about the rationale behind using this specific CSS structure:

h2.class-name

It seems like you could simply use .class-name and apply that class to the h2 element:

<h2 class="class-name">Title thing</h2>

Unless it's necessary when you are unable to modify the HTML. Is that the explanation?:

<div class="class-name">
  <h2>Title thing</h2>
</div>

I'm just not entirely clear on why this particular CSS structure is used.

html css inheritance

Answer 1

Answer №1

h2.class-name refers to selecting all <h2> elements with the class 'class-name'. Take a look at the example below for clarification:

p.red {
  background-color: red;
  color: white;
}

h2.red {
  color: red;
  text-decoration: underline;
}

<p class="red">
  RED PARAGRAPH
</p>

<h2 class="red">RED HEADING 2</h2>

It is important to note that both the <p> and the <h2> elements have the class 'red', but their styling varies for each element. Therefore, if a <p> has the class 'red', it will be styled differently from an <h2> with the same class.

Answer 2

h2.class-name refers to selecting all <h2> elements with the class 'class-name'. Take a look at the example below for clarification:

p.red {
  background-color: red;
  color: white;
}

h2.red {
  color: red;
  text-decoration: underline;
}

<p class="red">
  RED PARAGRAPH
</p>

<h2 class="red">RED HEADING 2</h2>

It is important to note that both the <p> and the <h2> elements have the class 'red', but their styling varies for each element. Therefore, if a <p> has the class 'red', it will be styled differently from an <h2> with the same class.

Answer 3

Answer №2

There are several factors that may lead someone to utilize that particular structure. Some possible reasons include:

To differentiate between elements belonging to the class-name class that are h2 and those that are of a different type.
To manage specificity, as h2.class-name has higher specificity than .class-name.
To explicitly indicate to CSS readers which elements should have that class applied.

Unless the constraint is an inability to edit the HTML. Is that the case here?:

No, in such a scenario, child or descendant combinators would be necessary.

.class-name h2 {}

Answer 4

There are several factors that may lead someone to utilize that particular structure. Some possible reasons include:

To differentiate between elements belonging to the class-name class that are h2 and those that are of a different type.
To manage specificity, as h2.class-name has higher specificity than .class-name.
To explicitly indicate to CSS readers which elements should have that class applied.

Unless the constraint is an inability to edit the HTML. Is that the case here?:

No, in such a scenario, child or descendant combinators would be necessary.

.class-name h2 {}

Utilizing CSS naming conventions to bring order to class inheritance

Answer №1

Answer №2

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