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CSS

John Rothra
John Rothra
6,711 Points
Posted by John Rothra
John Rothra
6,711 Points

Which is better: a.class, .class a, or .class > a? What's the difference?

Which is better (if either)? Why? What's the ultimate difference?

a.class {}

.class a {}

or

.class > a {}

2 Answers

Seth Kroger
Seth Kroger
56,403 Points
Seth Kroger
Seth Kroger
56,403 Points

All three do different things, none of which are better or worse than the other. The main thing is to realize they are NOT equivalents to each other.

a.class selects 

<a class="class">only</a>

.class a {} will select

<div class="class"> <!-- or ul, span, etc. -->
  <...>
     <a></a>
  </...>
</div>

or 

<div class="class"> <!-- or ul, span, etc. -->
   <a></a>
</div>

while .class > a {} selects:

<div class="class"> <!-- or ul, span, etc. -->
   <a></a>
</div>
John Rothra
John Rothra
6,711 Points
John Rothra
John Rothra
6,711 Points

Thank you for the clarification! Great info!