A pattern that has come up a few times in my code is the following: an object has a property which defaults to an expression based on its other properties unless it’s explicitly set, in which case it functions like a normal property. Essentially, the expression functions as a default value.
Think of a post slug for example: if none is set, then one should be automatically generated from the title. But if one is explicitly set, then that one should be returned.
The easiest way to implement this is to delete the previously stored getter upon setting a value:
let lea = {
name: "Lea Verou",
get id() {
return this.name.toLowerCase().replace(/\W+/g, "-");
},
set id(v) {
delete this.id;
return this.id = v;
}
}
But that’s not really scalable and requires code duplication if you have multiple occurrences of this pattern. Lea provides us with some reusable code, so that we can eventually simply call this one-liner to achieve the same result:
Houdini is a set of low-level APIs that exposes parts of the CSS engine, giving developers the power to extend CSS by hooking into the styling and layout process of a browser’s rendering engine. Houdini is a group of APIs that give developers direct access to the CSS Object Model (CSSOM), enabling developers to write code the browser can parse as CSS, thereby creating new CSS features without waiting for them to be implemented natively in browsers.
It really is magic, hence it's name Houdini. I'd recommend this slidedeck and this video to get you started
If you’re interested into making your first Paint Worklet with Houdini, you can easily follow along with the article/tutorial.
When using CSS Custom Properties we mainly use them directly as variables in calculations for other properties. Having one CSS Custom Property control a varying set of other properties — such as both colors and numbers — is not exactly possible. There are some hacky workarounds we can use, but these don’t cover all scenarios. Thankfully there’s a new idea popping up: Higher Level Custom Properties. Although still premature, these Higher Level Custom Properties would allow us to drop the hacks.
Let’s take a look at our current options, and how this (possible) future addition to the CSS spec — along with the @if at-rule it introduces — might look …
Using the var() function we create a CSS Variable which gets substituted for the value of the Custom Property it refers to.
E.g. The variable var(--square-size) will hold the value of the --square-size Custom Property — namely 2vw — which is then set as the value for the width CSS property.
🤔 CSS Custom Properties vs. CSS Variables — Is there a difference?
A CSS Custom Property is any property whose name starts with two dashes (U+002D HYPHEN-MINUS), like --foo. Just like with a normal property you can assign a value to it, e.g. --foo: 200;.
A CSS Variable is created when the var() function is used. When creating the CSS Variable var(--my-prop), it will be replaced with the value of the --my-prop Custom Property it refers to, namely 200.
~
# Using CSS Custom Properties to affect multiple CSS declarations
In the example above we have two types of squares: regular sized ones and big ones. To differentiate between them we need to toggle the .square--big class. Toggling that class affects two CSS Custom Properties: both --square-size and --square-padding are altered.
But what if we wanted not to toggle a HTML class but a CSS Custom Property to do so? E.g. we want to toggle one CSS Custom Property, and have that automatically affect both --square-size and --square-padding.
As it stands today it’s not very straightforward to let one single CSS Custom Property affect multiple other CSS Properties, unless you resort to some hacky workarounds. Let’s take a look at the options we have today.
If all you’re setting is numeric values, you can use Binary CSS Custom Properties within calculations. You give these Binary Custom Properties the value of 0 or 1 and use them within your calculations. Think of these Binary Custom Properties like light switches: they can either be OFF/false (0) or ON/true (1).
:root {
--is-big: 0;
}
.square--big {
--is-big: 1;
}
.square {
width: calc(
2vw * (1 - var(--is-big)) /* Value to apply when --is-big is 0 (~false) */
+
16vw * var(--is-big) /* Value to apply when --is-big is 1 (~true): */
);
padding: calc(
0.25vw * (1 - var(--is-big)) /* Value to apply when --is-big is 0 (~false) */
+
1vw * var(--is-big) /* Value to apply when --is-big is 1 (~true): */
);
aspect-ratio: 1/1;
}
In the example above the --is-big Custom Property acts as a binary toggle that controls the results of the calc() functions. In the case of --is-big having a value of 0 those functions will yield one specific value, while when --is-big is set to 1 it will yield another value.
☝️ With some extra effort you can even perform Logical Operations (AND, NAND, OR, NOR, XOR, …) using CSS Custom Properties!?
When you need to set things other than numeric values — such as colors — you can’t rely on a toggle that is either 0 or 1, as performing calculations with colors is invalid.
What you can do however is use The CSS Custom Property Toggle Trick by James0x57 — which I like to call “The Guaranteed-Invalid Value Hack” — where you set a Custom Property to the “guaranteed-invalid value” of initial to force the var() function to use its fallback value:
If, for whatever reason, one wants to manually reset a variable to the guaranteed-invalid value, using the keyword initial will do this.
--my-var: initial; /* initial => var() will use the fallback value */
color: var(--my-var, green); /* ~> green */
--my-var: hotpink; /* Any value other than `initial` (even simply one space!) => var() will not use the fallback value */
color: var(--my-var, green); /* ~> hotpink */
That means that you can flip the switch ON by setting a Custom Property to the value of initial. Here’s an example where the text will turn green and italic once --is-checked is flipped on:
A limitation of this approach however is that you can’t define several values to use in case --is-checked is in the OFF state. Say I want the text in the example above to be both red by default and with a border. Setting --is-checked to red will only get me halfway, as that value is only valid for the color property here.
input[type="checkbox"] + label {
--is-checked: red; /* Default value to use */
color: var(--is-checked, green); /* ✅ Will be red by default */
border: var(--is-checked, none); /* ❌ What about a default value for border? */
font-style: var(--is-checked, italic); /* ❌ What about a default value for font-style? */
}
UPDATE: As James0x57 himself pointed out in the comments below, the “CSS Custom Property Toggle Trick” can be used for this, but it takes some adjustments when compared to the implementation above. Here’s what James0x57 calls the Space Toggle Trick:
Consider the value (space) to be the ON position, and the value of initial to be the OFF position.
Assign property values to new custom properties using the syntax --value-to-use-if-custom-toggle-is-on: var(--my-custom-toggle) value;, where you put the value to be used after the CSS Variable.
🚨 Do note that this proposal is still in it’s very very early stages and part of an ongoing discussion. The CSS WG has merely expressed interest in this proposal, suggesting that it should be explored further. If if tends to be helpful and possible, only then work on a Working Draft will start. Right now it still is a concept.
“Higher Level Custom Properties” are Custom Properties that control a number of other CSS Properties. As the proposal stands right now you use them in combination with a newly proposed @if at-rule, like so:
Unlike the Custom Properties we know today, a Higher Level Custom Property controls multiple declarations, way beyond simple variable substitution. In the example above we set our HLCP --size to have a value of big. This value isn’t used directly, but affects the other properties width and padding.
Using this HLCP also improves the meaning of our code. Setting width: 16vw; does not clearly express our intent, whereas setting --size: big; does.
💁♂️ If you don’t like @if then please don’t discard the whole idea immediately, but focus on the problem it’s trying to fix here. Lea’s proposal is a possible solution, not the solution. Could be that — in the end — we end up with a totally different syntax.
Before you get too excited, there are still some cases that need to be taken care of. In a follow-up comment on the proposal, Lea documented some already identified issues.
🚨 Note that these issues are blocking issues. As long as these aren’t resolved, HLCPs won’t happen.
A first issue is a problem with the desugaring of @if and partial application. Behind the scenes a @if at-rule desugars to the still discussed if() function call. The example above eventually becomes this:
Now consider that an element that matches .foo is inside a 600px by 400px container and has a computed font-size of 25px; This makes 1em > 5% evaluate to false on the width property and true on the height property, which would make the @if partially applied. We most definitely don’t want that.
There are some ideas floating around to fix this — such as forcing percentages/lengths to always be compared against the width — but that’s still a bit vague right now.
Another issue that was pointed out is one on Cascading. I especially like this one, as it gives us a good insight in how CSS behaves and works:
Inline conditionals will have the IACVT (Invalid At Computed Value Time) behavior that we have come to know and love (?) from Custom Properties. Since @if will desugar to inline conditionals, it will also fall back to that, which may sometimes be surprising. This means that these two snippets are not equivalent:
A declaration can be invalid at computed-value […] if it uses a valid custom property, but the property value, after substituting its var() functions, is invalid. When this happens, the computed value of the property is either the property’s inherited value or its initial value […].
This explains why in the example below the background won’t be red but (the default)transparent.
:root { --not-a-color: 20px; }
p { background-color: red; }
p { background-color: var(--not-a-color); }
👉 As 20px is no valid <color> value, the last declaration will become background-color: initial;.
💡 If we would have written background-color: 20px directly (e.g. without the use of Custom Properties), then that declaration would have simply been discarded due to being invalid, and we would have ended up with a red background.
The “Higher Level Custom Properties” idea by Lea Verou is one that quite excites me, as it solves an actual issue one can have in their code and would avoid having to use one of the nasty hacks.
There’s still a long way to go before we might actually see this land, yet as the CSS WG has expressed interest I’m hopeful that the already identified issues will be wrinkled out, and that work on an official spec can start.
Anthony Ricaud, writing for the Web Performance Calendar, on the extra load that JavaScript can put on your site, and how you can replace some things with basic HTML and CSS:
Relying on solutions provided natively by browsers enables you to benefit at low cost from the expertise of the community creating web standards. These solutions generally have the advantage of using less code, thus reducing maintenance efforts for a development team (for example, no need to update the libraries used).
In this article, we will explore some of these native solutions that are available to the majority of your users.
Adam Argyle looking at several techniques to center in CSS, and how they hold up in several conditions (narrow screen, rtl, etc)
In today’s challenge, we’re stress testing 5 different CSS centering techniques. See what techniques should earn a place in your tool belt by watching how they react to common layout stress. The contestants: content center, gentle flex, autobot, fluffy center, and pop & plop.
If you prefer a written format, a full write-up is also available on web.dev
It is time to rethink how we cook a set of favicons for modern browsers and stop the icon generator madness. Currently, frontend developers have to deal with 20+ static PNG files just to display a tiny website logo in a browser tab or on a touchscreen.