What effect does setting div1 to float left have on the layout of div2 in css?

Question

What effect does setting div1 to float left have on the layout of div2 in css?

Behold the mystical code written in HTML.

<div id="sidebar1">
     sidebar1 
</div>
 <div id="sidebar2">
      sidebar2  
</div>

Beneath lies the enchanting CSS code for the aforementioned HTML structure.

div {
    width: 100px;
    height:100px;
    border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 1px;

}

 div#sidebar1 {
    float: left;
}

As it appears on my screen via the spellbinding Firefox browser, a question arises - why does 'sidebar2' refuse to be concealed by div1?

The ancient form of this HTML used to manifest itself like so:

In my humble opinion, due to the sorcery of the float left property, div2 will be enveloped entirely by div1, masking any trace of text within div2 as depicted below.

And lo and behold, when I hover over div2 in the mysterious Firebug tool, the text 'sidebar2' seems to drift away from its intended dwelling within div2. Why is this peculiar phenomenon occurring?

html css

Answer 1

Answer №1

In order to grasp the issue at hand, it's crucial to realize that the box is not the content.

According to the W3C wiki:

Each rendered line is enclosed in a separate line box.

By making #sidebar1 float, you remove it from the document flow
Subsequently, the #sidebar2 box can occupy its space
However, the content of #sidebar2 (specifically, the first line box) differs from the box itself and gets displaced by #sidebar1

To prevent this behavior, you can apply overflow: hidden to #sidebar2, or even better: use float: left.

Many individuals misunderstand the concept of float and mistakenly believe it simply positions elements next to each other. This misconception often leads us to address issues without truly comprehending the root cause.

Remember, the property is called float, not arrange.

Answer 2

In order to grasp the issue at hand, it's crucial to realize that the box is not the content.

According to the W3C wiki:

Each rendered line is enclosed in a separate line box.

By making #sidebar1 float, you remove it from the document flow
Subsequently, the #sidebar2 box can occupy its space
However, the content of #sidebar2 (specifically, the first line box) differs from the box itself and gets displaced by #sidebar1

To prevent this behavior, you can apply overflow: hidden to #sidebar2, or even better: use float: left.

Many individuals misunderstand the concept of float and mistakenly believe it simply positions elements next to each other. This misconception often leads us to address issues without truly comprehending the root cause.

Remember, the property is called float, not arrange.

Answer 3

Answer №2

To achieve the effect of having two elements display on top of each other, you need to adjust the positioning of the first element to absolute.

By changing the position to absolute, the element will be taken out of the normal flow rendering, allowing other elements to overlap with it.

.box {
    width: 100px;
    height: 100px;
    border-style: solid; 
    border-width: 1px 1px 1px 1px;
    position: absolute;
}

.box#sidebar1 {
    float: left;
}

Answer 4

To achieve the effect of having two elements display on top of each other, you need to adjust the positioning of the first element to absolute.

By changing the position to absolute, the element will be taken out of the normal flow rendering, allowing other elements to overlap with it.

.box {
    width: 100px;
    height: 100px;
    border-style: solid; 
    border-width: 1px 1px 1px 1px;
    position: absolute;
}

.box#sidebar1 {
    float: left;
}

What effect does setting div1 to float left have on the layout of div2 in css?

Answer №1

Answer №2

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