wildcard * in CSS for classes

The Magic of Wildcards in CSS for Classes ✨🎩🌟

Do you find yourself needing to style elements with similar classes but also require unique identifiers? 🤔 Are you tired of duplicating CSS rules unnecessarily? Have no fear! The wildcard '*' in CSS for classes is here to save the day! 🦸‍♀️

The Problem: Duplicate CSS Rules 😫

In a recent project, a user reached out to us with a burning question. They had a series of divs that needed to be styled using the class tocolor, but they also wanted to add unique identifiers like tocolor-1, tocolor-2, and so on. Here's an example:

<div class="tocolor tocolor-1"> tocolor 1 </div>
<div class="tocolor tocolor-2"> tocolor 2 </div>
<div class="tocolor tocolor-3"> tocolor 3 </div>
<div class="tocolor tocolor-4"> tocolor 4 </div>

Naturally, they tried to use a wildcard in their CSS to target all the elements with the class tocolor-, like this:

.tocolor-* {
  background: red;
}

But to their dismay, it didn't work! 😱

The Solution: Embrace the Wildcard ✨

Fear not, intrepid developer! While CSS doesn't support wildcards in selectors used for classes, there's a nifty trick you can use to achieve the desired result.

In this scenario, since we want to style all elements that have a class starting with tocolor-, we can use the CSS selector attribute starts with (^=). Let's dive into the solution:

[class^="tocolor-"] {
  background: red;
}

By using [class^="tocolor-"], we've unlocked the power of the starts with attribute selector. It targets any element whose class starts with "tocolor-". 🎉

Now when you apply this CSS rule, it will style all the tocolor-* elements:

<div class="tocolor tocolor-1"> tocolor 1 </div>
<div class="tocolor tocolor-2"> tocolor 2 </div>
<div class="tocolor tocolor-3"> tocolor 3 </div>
<div class="tocolor tocolor-4"> tocolor 4 </div>

Take it a Step Further ✨

Want to level up? Once you start using the starts with attribute selector, you can combine it with other powerful selectors to target even more specific elements. For example, you could modify the selector to only target elements with the class tocolor-* and another specific class like this:

[class^="tocolor-"].customize {
  background: blue;
}

Let's Recap: 💡

1. CSS doesn't natively support wildcards for classes.

2. You can achieve similar results by using the attribute starts with selector [class^="value"].

3. Combine this selector with other classes for more specific targeting.

Next time you find yourself juggling duplicate CSS rules, remember the power of the wildcard-like starts with attribute selector! 🌟

Join the CSS Wildcard Fun 🎉🔮

Have you encountered any interesting CSS challenges in your projects? Share your stories and solutions in the comments section below! Let's learn from each other and find creative ways to tackle CSS conundrums. 💪💬

Remember, the CSS world is vast. There's always more to discover and explore! 🌎✨

Happy coding! 💻💖