What is the mechanism behind the functionality of CSS @import?

Imagine I have created a class in my CSS, and this class is defined in 3 separate CSS files with different specifications...

In the first CSS file, the width is set to 10px

In the second CSS file, the width is changed to 20px

Finally, in the third CSS file, the width is adjusted to 30px

Now, in my HTML document, I link to CSS1, which also imports CSS2 at the beginning, which then further imports CSS3...

So, my question is: Which width value will be applied to the element, and how exactly is this decision determined?

htmlcss

Answer №1

The final rule implemented is

.myclass { width: 10px; }

Due to the priority given to imported stylesheets, they are always applied first, and then can be overridden by subsequent styles in the importing stylesheet. Therefore, when multiple rules of equal specificity conflict, they cascade in the following order:

  1. css3.css
  2. css2.css (overrides the rule in imported css3.css)
  3. css1.css (overrides the rule in imported css2.css)

To better illustrate this cascading effect, the resulting CSS would appear as follows:

.myclass { width: 30px; } /* From imported css3.css */
.myclass { width: 20px; } /* From imported css2.css, overrides css3.css */
.myclass { width: 10px; } /* From css1.css, overrides css2.css */

Answer №2

Aside from considerations regarding additional HTTP requests and caching, using @import functions similarly to inserting the content of the imported file at the exact location of the @ directive in the importing file.

The standard cascade rules, such as specificity and source order, then come into effect as usual.

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