What causes inline-blocks to malfunction after a non-breaking space is inserted?

Question

What causes inline-blocks to malfunction after a non-breaking space is inserted?

Here is some HTML code:

<p id='one'>Hello World how are you.&nbsp;<span>Entrepreneur</span></p>

<p>Hello World how are you.&nbsp;<span>Entrepreneur</span></p>

Below is some CSS styling:

#one span {
  display: inline-block;
}

p {
  font-family: Arial;
  font-size: 16px;
  width: 200px;
}

The second paragraph behaves as expected.

However, the first paragraph behaves differently due to the span element being set as an inline-block.

I am curious about why the inline-block span ignores the non-breaking space ( ) and breaks the line between the span and the previous word.

Thank you for any assistance!

You can refer to an example on this fiddle here.

css

Answer 1

Answer №1

It appears that the behavior varies among different browsers when it comes to handling a no-break space within an inline or inline-block element:

In IE11 and recent versions tested, the no-break space is respected and does not separate the span from its preceding word, regardless of whether the span is styled as inline or inline-block.
On the other hand, in all other browsers, including Firefox and Chrome, the behavior described by the question occurs. The no-break space seems to be ignored when the span is styled as inline-block, resulting in the span being pushed onto a new line separated from the preceding word.

While some explanations suggest that the inline-block element's formatting akin to a block box laid inline may contribute to this inconsistency, there is no definitive confirmation in the specifications. This ambiguity also extends to why IE behaves differently compared to other browsers.

The CSS2.1 spec mentions about atomic inline-level boxes in section 9.2.2, but it doesn't fully elaborate on the interaction between line breaks and these elements, especially with regards to the effect of a no-break space. Hence, the reasoning behind each browser's behavior remains unclear.

Even references to the CSS3 Text module provide limited insight regarding line breaks and atomic inlines, as seen in this section:

The line breaking behavior of a replaced element or other atomic inline aligns with that of the Object Replacement Character (U+FFFC).

An experiment using U+FFFC like showcased in this example yield inconsistent results across browsers:

<p id='one'>Hello World how are you.&nbsp;<span>Entrepreneur</span></p>

<p>Hello World how are you.&nbsp;<span>Entrepreneur</span></p>

<p>Hello World how are you.&nbsp;&#xfffc;</p>

Observations include:

IE demonstrates more consistent behavior, breaking all three paragraphs similarly.
Firefox respects the no-break space while splitting the lines identical to the second paragraph.
Chrome shows inconsistencies, failing to render the character altogether.

This leads to doubts over whether this behavior is clearly defined in any existing CSS specification.

Answer 2

It appears that the behavior varies among different browsers when it comes to handling a no-break space within an inline or inline-block element:

In IE11 and recent versions tested, the no-break space is respected and does not separate the span from its preceding word, regardless of whether the span is styled as inline or inline-block.
On the other hand, in all other browsers, including Firefox and Chrome, the behavior described by the question occurs. The no-break space seems to be ignored when the span is styled as inline-block, resulting in the span being pushed onto a new line separated from the preceding word.

While some explanations suggest that the inline-block element's formatting akin to a block box laid inline may contribute to this inconsistency, there is no definitive confirmation in the specifications. This ambiguity also extends to why IE behaves differently compared to other browsers.

The CSS2.1 spec mentions about atomic inline-level boxes in section 9.2.2, but it doesn't fully elaborate on the interaction between line breaks and these elements, especially with regards to the effect of a no-break space. Hence, the reasoning behind each browser's behavior remains unclear.

Even references to the CSS3 Text module provide limited insight regarding line breaks and atomic inlines, as seen in this section:

The line breaking behavior of a replaced element or other atomic inline aligns with that of the Object Replacement Character (U+FFFC).

An experiment using U+FFFC like showcased in this example yield inconsistent results across browsers:

<p id='one'>Hello World how are you.&nbsp;<span>Entrepreneur</span></p>

<p>Hello World how are you.&nbsp;<span>Entrepreneur</span></p>

<p>Hello World how are you.&nbsp;&#xfffc;</p>

Observations include:

IE demonstrates more consistent behavior, breaking all three paragraphs similarly.
Firefox respects the no-break space while splitting the lines identical to the second paragraph.
Chrome shows inconsistencies, failing to render the character altogether.

This leads to doubts over whether this behavior is clearly defined in any existing CSS specification.

Answer 3

Answer №2

According to the specifications, there is no definitive answer as HTML and CSS specs do not provide precise rules for line breaking. HTML 4.01 states: “Sometimes authors may want to prevent a line break from occurring between two words. The   entity (  or  ) acts as a space where user agents should not cause a line break.” However, it does not mandate that browsers must adhere to this rule.

Browsers that do not interpret   as preventing a line break before an inline-block element can argue that   simply represents the NO-BREAK SPACE character, which in Unicode prevents line breaks when placed between characters. In this case, it is positioned between a character and an inline-block element, which is essentially treated as a neutral unit in line formatting—occupying space without being considered a character itself or containing characters.

It is worth noting that even if you remove the  , a string like “you.Entrepreneur” will not be broken, but turning “Entrepreneur” into an inline block could potentially disrupt the string’s layout.

The same principles apply to images. Browsers might not recognize   between text and an image since the NO-BREAK SPACE does not appear directly between characters.

To prevent line breaks more explicitly, consider the following approach:

<p>Hello World how are <nobr>you.&nbsp;<span>Entrepreneur</span></nobr></p>

In the example above, I utilized the nobr element for simplicity. Alternatively, you can use a standard element and implement white-space: nowrap to prevent line breaks within the content (despite its name, this CSS property has a broader impact than just handling whitespace).

Answer 4

According to the specifications, there is no definitive answer as HTML and CSS specs do not provide precise rules for line breaking. HTML 4.01 states: “Sometimes authors may want to prevent a line break from occurring between two words. The   entity (  or  ) acts as a space where user agents should not cause a line break.” However, it does not mandate that browsers must adhere to this rule.

Browsers that do not interpret   as preventing a line break before an inline-block element can argue that   simply represents the NO-BREAK SPACE character, which in Unicode prevents line breaks when placed between characters. In this case, it is positioned between a character and an inline-block element, which is essentially treated as a neutral unit in line formatting—occupying space without being considered a character itself or containing characters.

It is worth noting that even if you remove the  , a string like “you.Entrepreneur” will not be broken, but turning “Entrepreneur” into an inline block could potentially disrupt the string’s layout.

The same principles apply to images. Browsers might not recognize   between text and an image since the NO-BREAK SPACE does not appear directly between characters.

To prevent line breaks more explicitly, consider the following approach:

<p>Hello World how are <nobr>you.&nbsp;<span>Entrepreneur</span></nobr></p>

In the example above, I utilized the nobr element for simplicity. Alternatively, you can use a standard element and implement white-space: nowrap to prevent line breaks within the content (despite its name, this CSS property has a broader impact than just handling whitespace).

Answer 5

Answer №3

My hypothesis is that the inline-block style causes the contents of the element to be treated as a block, causing the text and span to separate onto different lines due to the lack of white space between them.

This phenomenon is new to me, so I can only speculate on the reason behind it.

Answer 6

My hypothesis is that the inline-block style causes the contents of the element to be treated as a block, causing the text and span to separate onto different lines due to the lack of white space between them.

This phenomenon is new to me, so I can only speculate on the reason behind it.

Answer 7

Answer №4

After extensive research, the only information I could locate pertaining to this topic is as follows:

As outlined on https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/display

In regards to inline-block elements

The element generates a block element box that will be flowed with surrounding content as if it were a single inline box (behaving much like a replaced element would)

inline elements

The element generates one or more inline element boxes.

I suppose due to the block element nature of inline-block, the non-breaking space feature is not functioning as anticipated compared to how a span usually behaves as just an inline element

Answer 8

After extensive research, the only information I could locate pertaining to this topic is as follows:

As outlined on https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/display

In regards to inline-block elements

The element generates a block element box that will be flowed with surrounding content as if it were a single inline box (behaving much like a replaced element would)

inline elements

The element generates one or more inline element boxes.

I suppose due to the block element nature of inline-block, the non-breaking space feature is not functioning as anticipated compared to how a span usually behaves as just an inline element

What causes inline-blocks to malfunction after a non-breaking space is inserted?

Answer №1

Answer №2

Answer №3

Answer №4

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