object oriented css for rapid, scalable and maintainable development
DESCRIPTION
Most frontend developers have already heard of Object Oriented CSS, yet it is still sorely under-practiced. Do your CSS files have overrides and !importants scattered through them? Do they often come in at 3000 lines+ for a regular site? Tied with good semantic HTML, the Object Oriented CSS approach really is the answer to rapid, lightweight, scalable and easy to maintain frontend code. OOCSS will speed up any front end build, but really comes into its own on bigger sites. I will talk through my approach to frontend builds and show how OOCSS makes the process so much easier. I'll also talk a bit about CSS compilers and how it is important to have a good understanding of OOCSS methods before jumping into SASS or LESS. Poor CSS practice isn't going to be rescued by a compiler; in fact it can even compound problems by bringing in another layer to debug. I hope to instill a real understanding of what OOCSS means, why it REALLY matters, and how it's going to make you a better front end developer! @graemeblackwood http://www.deeson-online.co.uk/graeme-blackwood Presented at Frontend United – http://frontendunited.orgTRANSCRIPT
Object Oriented CSS
Graeme Blackwood Creative Lead, Deeson Online
deeson-online.co.uk @graemeblackwood
Props•Nicole Sullivan, http://www.stubbornella.org
•Jonathan Snook (SMACSS), http://smacss.com
•Everyone at http://thesassway.com
•Chris Eppstein, http://compass-style.org
•Kevin Poulton http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevinpoulton
•And loads more!
Before we get going
OO CSS !=OO Programming
But an OOP mindset can be applied to CSS
OOCSS does not require any newer technologies
It works in IE6 – no need for CSS3, HTML5 etc
Semantic markup is very helpful, but usually not essential
Semantic is better though!
The traditional approach to CSS
Style output as needed Each item / page individually...
Target styles by drilling down through nested elements
Problems with traditional CSS
Coding takes a lot longer
It gets bloated
It is difficult to read and hard to reuse
Traditional CSS is tough to maintain
‽
Object Oriented CSSA new way of thinking
Separate layout from theme(Use a grid system!)
Separate the container from the content
Look for shared stylesYou will see them everywhere
Why should I care?
Reusable code
Faster development
Less effort to code
Easier to maintain
Less code,smaller files
Getting started
Using a grid system?You are already on the right track!
Use a reset stylesheetHTML5 boilerplate’s normalize.css
Set good base stylesTo minimise later overrides
* {box-sizing: border-box} is pretty handy
Set good base stylesTo minimise later overridesBuild HTML prototypeswith Drupal in mind...
Clean up what Drupal throws at youDon’t just style,theme!
Lose unnecessary markup if it affects you
Some divs are totally pointless!
Don’t be too obsessed with perfect markup
Just enough is ok
“Now, this is just a simulation of what the blocks will look like once they’re assembled”
Let’s look at some real world applications...
.block = inherited base styles only
.grid-4 = grid class
.theme-a = theme class, H3 and p inherit colour
.padded is a class I add to the grid framework for situations like this
<div class=”grid-4 theme-a block”> <h3>Block title</h3> <p>Hello world!</p></div>
.grid-4 comes from your grid framework
.theme-a { background-color: #580174; border-radius: 6px; color: #fff; //H3 and p inherit this}
Carousel nav tabsObject is a Drupal menu – UL with a class of .sidebar-menu. Custom jQuery targets the ID.
Also used on a listingAnd it flexes to the container
99% of the styles are reused, targeted through .right .sidebar-menu only to flip the active item
Carousel itemsWith a class of .product-box
Reused on listing pages
Same layout as product listings and carousel, flexed to image size
What aboutSASS and LESS?Why bother with presentational classes in markup anymore?
Not everyone wants to use a CSS preprocessorAnd the mindset of reduce, reuse & recycle is just as important even with one
Use SASS wisely – it’s another layer to debug
Be particularly careful with nested selectors http://thesassway.com/beginner/the-inception-rule
http://37signals.com/svn/posts/3003-css-taking-control-of-the-cascade
Disregarding the other principles of OOCSS may create pain laterYou could end up with generated CSS bloated even more than if you had hand-coded it
Summary•OOCSS is as much a mindset as a technique
•The principles are to reduce, reuse and recycle code
•This is done through separating layout from theme
•and the container from the content
•It relies primarily on reused classes and markup
•We are working on Drupal 8 to make it much easier to change markup. In the meantime, try Display Suite or Skinr for node theming
Summary
•CSS preprocessors like SASS and LESS are great
•But they create another layer to debug
•And the code they generate can be very bloated
•Preprocessors are not an excuse to be lazy
•They still need to be used with an OO mindset
@graemeblackwood
Questions?
Thanks for listening!
Most of the fantastic lego images were by Kevin Poulton http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevinpoulton