What is CSS?
CSS is short for Cascading Style Sheets. It is a style sheet terminology used to describe how a text written in HTML or XML looks. CSS lets web developers separate the structure and content of a web page from its style and layout. This gives web designers more freedom and control over how web pages look.
With CSS, you can set the look of a document’s colors, fonts, layout, space, and more. It uses a set of rules to decide how items on a screen should be presented. These rules are made up of selectors that target specific HTML elements and directives that tell the browser what styles to use for those elements.
CSS is sliding, meaning multiple style rules can be applied to the same element. Specificity and descent rules are used to figure out how to solve style conflicts. This lets writers build designs that look good and uniform across multiple web pages by describing styles in a central CSS file linked to each HTML page.
CSS has changed over time, and different versions, like CSS1, CSS2, CSS3, and CSS4, have been released with new features and changes. Web browsers widely support it and have become an important tool for web development, allowing developers to make interesting and flexible web experiences.
What are the types of CSS?
CSS is classified into three types:
1. CSS inline
The “style” tag is used to apply inline CSS to specific HTML elements. This approach overrides any external or internal CSS styles applied to that particular element. As an example:
<p style=”color: blue; font-size: 16px;”>This is a paragraph with inline CSS.</p>
2. CSS Internal
Internal CSS is specified inside the style> elements in an HTML document’s head section. It has an impact on the style of all items on that page. As an example:
<head>
<style>
p {
color: blue;
font-size: 16px;
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<p>This is a paragraph with internal CSS.</p>
</body>
3. CSS External
External CSS is specified in a second CSS file that ends in.css. This file is then connected to the HTML content in the head section using the link> element. You may use external CSS to apply uniform styles to numerous HTML pages. As an example:
HTML:
<head>
  <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="styles.css">
</head>
<body>
  <p>This is a paragraph with external CSS.</p>
</body>
CSS (styles.css):
p {
  color: blue;
  font-size: 16px;
}You may isolate the design and layout from the content by utilizing external CSS, making managing and changing the styles throughout your website simpler.
To produce the desired visual appearance of web pages, these three forms of CSS may be used singly or in combination.
The Difference Between Inline, External and Internal CSS Styles
​​Styles may be applied to HTML components in three ways: inline CSS, external CSS, and internal CSS. Here are the fundamental distinctions between them:
1. CSS inline:
– Using the “style” property, inline CSS is applied directly to individual HTML components.
– The inline styles override any external or internal CSS styles for that particular element.
– Inline CSS often adds one-time or unique styles to specified components.
– It is not advised for general usage since it might make the code less manageable and more difficult to update.
2. CSS for internal use:
– Internal CSS is specified inside the’style>’ elements in an HTML document’s head section.
– The internal styles are applied to all components on that specific HTML page.
– When you wish to add styles to a single HTML page without impacting other pages, utilize internal CSS.
– It lets you keep the styles inside the HTML file, making it self-contained.
3. CSS External:
External CSS is specified in a separate CSS file with the extension.css.
– The CSS file is then connected to the HTML content in the head section using the ‘link>’ element.
– The external CSS file’s styles may be applied to various HTML pages.
– External CSS encourages code reuse, uniformity, and ease of maintenance.
– It lets you isolate the design and layout from the text, which makes updating and managing styles across several pages simpler.
Inline CSS is applied to individual components directly, internal CSS is specified inside the HTML text, and external CSS is kept in a separate CSS file. Inline CSS is best for particular and one-of-a-kind styles, internal CSS is best for single-page styling, and external CSS is best for consistent styling across numerous pages. In most circumstances, external CSS is preferred since it improves code structure and maintainability.
