Sass Basics: Nesting

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Key Takeaways

  • Nesting in Sass allows for the creation of CSS rules that mimic the structure of HTML, reducing the amount of necessary typing and making the code more efficient and maintainable. However, overuse can lead to complex, unmanageable stylesheets.
  • Parent selectors can be referenced using the ampersand (&) in Sass, allowing for the creation of compound selectors and pseudo-classes. This feature, combined with the ability to nest properties, facilitates more concise and readable code.
  • While nesting can be extended to any level, it’s advised to not nest deeper than three levels to maintain code readability and manageability. Over-nesting can lead to overly specific CSS that is hard to override and may affect website performance.

When you are just starting out using Sass one of the first features you will hear about is nesting. One reason we may use a preprocessor is to lessen the amount of typing we need to create CSS rules. Nesting allows us to use shortcuts to create our rules. The problem with all great tools is that the potential for misuse is always there. Nesting is no different as overuse can create complex, unmanageable stylesheets.

What is Nesting

Nesting allows you to write selectors that mimic the structure of your HTML. This allows you to use shortcuts to create your CSS. For example:

div {
    p {
        color: black;
    }
}

This is nesting at its simplest. The div element encloses the P element. This will in turn compile to.

div p { color: black; }

We could have also given the div its own properties.

div {
    font-size: 14px;
    p {
        color: black;
    }
}

This in turn compiles to two separate rules, one for the div by itself and another for the p element inside of the div.

div { font-size: 14px;}
div p { color: black; }

How to use nesting

Nesting styles is simple enough. You just enclose a selector (or selectors) inside the curly braces of another selector.

.parent {
    .child {
    }
}

Nesting can extend as many levels deep as you wish. What this means is that you can nest elements inside of an element that is in turn nested inside another element.

.first-level {
    .second-level {
        .third-level {
            .fourth-level {
            }
        }
    }
}

There is really no limit to the amount of levels deep that you can nest elements. The main thing to remember is just because you can do something does not mean you should. It is generally a good idea to not nest deeper than three levels. Anything more than that starts to affect the readability of the code. Sass is there to help us write CSS faster, not to create a bunch of styles that are not maintainable. For example

.page {
    font-family: sans-serif;
    .content {
        background-color: black;
        .text {
            color: white;
            font-size: 12px;
            .headline {
                font-weight: bold;
                a {
                    color: blue;
                    &:visited {
                        color: green;
                    }
                    &:hover {
                        color: red;
                    }
                    &:active {
                        color: yellow;
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    }

}

Looks innocent enough with nesting that extends five levels deep. A look at the compiled output illustrates the problems with nesting too deep.

.page { font-family: sans-serif; }

.page .content { background-color: black; }

.page .content .text { color: white; font-size: 12px; }

.page .content .text .headline { font-weight: bold; }

.page .content .text .headline a { color: blue; }

.page .content .text .headline a:visited { color: green; }

.page .content .text .headline a:hover { color: red; }

.page .content .text .headline a:active { color: yellow; }

This presents a problem if we change the structure one of our webpages. Lets say we changed .content to .article. All underlying classes will have to be re-written as they are all dependent on being inside .content.

We also have problems with the rules we are creating being useful in only one part of our code. If we wanted to use the styles for .text somewhere else on our site we cannot since .text is bound to the elements that enclose it.

Referencing parent selectors

In the terrible example above we use an ampersand, &, to specify where the parent selector needs to be placed. The : is used in the above example to create a pseudo-class of the anchor element.

a {
    color: blue;
    &:visited {
    color: green;
    }
    &:hover {
    color: red;
    }
    &:active {
    color: yellow;
    }
}

This compiles to

a { color: blue; }

a:visited { color: green; }

a:hover { color: red; }

a:active { color: yellow; }

By itself this is very readable and as a result maintainable by anyone. You can also use the & to build compound selectors. You do this by following the ampersand with a suffix. For example:

.col {
    &-span1 { width: 8.33%; }
    &-span2 { width: 16.66%; }
    &-span3 { width: 24.99%; }
}

Which give us

.col-span1 { width: 8.33%; }
.col-span2 { width: 16.66%; }
.col-span3 { width: 24.99%; }

As you can see the parent selector is placed where the ampersand is.

Nested properties

Sass also provides a shorthand for writing styles using CSS namespaces. Normally when setting properties in the same namespace, for example border, we have to write out individual properties in our style sheet. With Sass we can write the namespace once and nest its properties.

.example {
    border: {
        style: dashed;
        width: 30px;
        color: blue;
    }
}

This compiles to

.example {
    border-style: dashed;
    border-width: 30px;
    border-color: blue;
}

As you can see the namespace is appended to the properties. Unlike the above example we did not have to include the & for border to show up in the correct place.

Conclusion

Now that you know what nesting is please use it responsibly. Sometime when building a project we can lose sight of the scope of what we are building. Its easy to create a nightmare of readability when nesting with Sass. When and how to use nesting is up to you, if you decide to go 8 levels deep by all means go for it. Just be prepared for long nights of work if a project has major overhaul.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Sass Basics and Nesting

What is the significance of nesting in Sass?

Nesting is a powerful feature in Sass that allows you to write more maintainable and readable code. It helps in organizing your CSS styles in a hierarchical manner, mirroring the HTML structure. This makes it easier to understand the relationship between different styles and their corresponding HTML elements. Nesting also reduces the amount of code you need to write, making your stylesheets more concise and efficient.

How does Sass handle nesting of selectors?

In Sass, you can nest selectors in a way that mirrors the structure of your HTML. The nested selector, written inside the parent selector, will inherit the parent’s properties. This nested rule will apply to elements that match the nested selector and are descendants of elements that match the parent selector. This makes it easier to manage complex styles and keep your code DRY (Don’t Repeat Yourself).

Can I nest properties in Sass?

Yes, Sass allows you to nest properties as well. This is particularly useful for properties that share the same namespace, like font-family, font-size, and font-weight. By nesting these properties, you can write more concise and readable code.

What are the potential pitfalls of nesting in Sass?

While nesting in Sass can make your code more organized and maintainable, over-nesting can lead to problems. Deeply nested rules can result in overly specific CSS that is hard to override and maintain. It can also lead to the creation of unnecessary CSS, which can affect the performance of your website. Therefore, it’s important to use nesting judiciously.

How does Sass handle pseudo-classes and pseudo-elements with nesting?

Sass provides a convenient way to handle pseudo-classes and pseudo-elements using the ‘&’ character. You can nest pseudo-classes and pseudo-elements within your selector, and Sass will generate the appropriate CSS. This makes it easier to manage styles related to hover, focus, before, after, and other pseudo-classes and pseudo-elements.

Can I use Sass nesting with media queries?

Yes, you can use Sass nesting with media queries. This allows you to include the media query directly within the selector that it affects, making your code more organized and easier to understand. Sass will generate the appropriate CSS, placing the media query at the same level as the selector.

How does Sass handle nesting of directives?

Sass allows you to nest directives like @media or @supports within selectors. This can make your code more readable and maintainable, as the scope of the directive is clearly defined. Sass will generate the appropriate CSS, placing the directive at the same level as the selector.

Can I nest mixins and functions in Sass?

Yes, you can nest mixins and functions in Sass. This allows you to encapsulate a group of CSS declarations that you want to reuse throughout your stylesheet. By nesting mixins and functions, you can make your code more DRY and maintainable.

How does Sass handle nesting with the parent selector (&)?

The parent selector (&) in Sass is a powerful feature that allows you to reference the parent selector within a nested rule. This can be used to create compound selectors, pseudo-class selectors, and more. Sass will replace the & with the parent selector when generating the CSS.

Can I control the specificity of nested selectors in Sass?

Yes, you can control the specificity of nested selectors in Sass by carefully structuring your Sass code. However, keep in mind that deeply nested selectors can lead to high specificity, which can make your CSS hard to maintain. It’s generally recommended to keep your nesting levels to a minimum to maintain low specificity and avoid potential issues.

Reggie DawsonReggie Dawson
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Reggie is a longtime Network Admin who has finally seen the error of his ways and has come over to the darkside: development. He likes to hack together web projects in his spare time using Angular, Compass, Sass, Bootstrap, or Foundation.

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