Sass selector-append() Function

Posted in Sass Tutorial

Updated on Sep 30, 2024

By Mari Selvan

👁️ 10 - Views

⏳ 4 mins

💬 1 Comment

Photo Credit to CodeToFun

🙋 Introduction

The selector-append() function in Sass is a utility function that allows you to append one or more selectors to an existing selector.

This is particularly useful when you need to dynamically build or modify CSS selectors, ensuring that your stylesheets remain DRY (Don't Repeat Yourself) and maintainable.

💡 Syntax

The selector-append() function takes multiple arguments, where the first argument is the base selector, and the subsequent arguments are the selectors to be appended.

Syntax

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selector-append($selector1, $selector2, ...)

🔢 Parameters

$selector1: The base selector to which other selectors will be appended.
$selector2, ...: One or more selectors that will be appended to the base selector.

↩️ Return Value

The function returns a new compound selector with the appended selectors.

📝 Example Usage

Let's explore how the selector-append() function can be utilized in various scenarios.

📜 Example 1: Basic Usage

example.scss

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$base-selector: '.button';
$modifier: '--primary';

.result {
  $new-selector: selector-append($base-selector, $modifier);
  #{$new-selector} {
    background-color: blue;
  }
}

In this example, the selector-append() function appends --primary to .button, resulting in .button--primary. The new selector is then used to style elements with a blue background color.

📜 Example 2: Appending Multiple Selectors

example.scss

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$base-selector: '.card';
$state: '--active';
$child-element: '__header';

$new-selector: selector-append($base-selector, $state, $child-element);

#{$new-selector} {
  font-weight: bold;
}

Here, the function appends both --active and __header to the .card selector, generating .card--active__header. This new selector is then used to style the header of an active card.

📜 Example 3: Using selector-append() with Pseudo-classes

example.scss

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$base-selector: '.nav-link';
$pseudo-class: ':hover';

$new-selector: selector-append($base-selector, $pseudo-class);

#{$new-selector} {
  text-decoration: underline;
}

In this example, the selector-append() function is used to append the :hover pseudo-class to .nav-link, creating a selector that styles the link when it is hovered over.

📜 Example 4: Combining Complex Selectors

example.scss

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$parent-selector: '.container';
$child-selector: '.item';
$state: '--selected';

$new-selector: selector-append($parent-selector, $child-selector, $state);

#{$new-selector} {
  border: 1px solid red;
}

This example demonstrates how to combine multiple selectors, resulting in .container.item--selected, which targets selected items within a container.

🎉 Conclusion

The selector-append() function in Sass is a powerful tool for dynamically building CSS selectors. By appending selectors, you can create complex, reusable styles without redundancy, enhancing both the flexibility and maintainability of your stylesheets.

Understanding how to effectively use selector-append() allows you to write more modular and organized Sass code, making your stylesheets easier to manage and scale. Experiment with different combinations to see how this function can simplify your CSS and make your workflow more efficient.