September 1, 2000 - Resolving Conflicting Styles | WebReference

September 1, 2000 - Resolving Conflicting Styles

Yehuda Shiran September 1, 2000
Resolving Conflicting Styles
Tips: September 2000

Yehuda Shiran, Ph.D.
Doc JavaScript

You can define an element's style in many different ways. There is a pre-defined priority order between these methods. An element's own scripting always has the highest priority. Its own inline STYLE is next, and own inline CLASS is after that. Inherited scripting, STYLE, and CLASS are in lower priority, in this order. The following examples demonstrate this concept:

Notice the style assignment hierarchy: setting color by inherited CLASS
Here is the HTML code for the example above:

<DIV CLASS="textBlue">
  <SPAN>
    Notice the style assignment hierarchy: setting color by inherited CLASS 
  </SPAN>
</DIV>

Notice the style assignment hierarchy: setting color by inherited inline STYLE
Here is the HTML code for the example above:

<DIV CLASS="textBlue" STYLE="color: red">
  <SPAN>
    Notice the style assignment hierarchy: setting color by inherited inline STYLE 
  </SPAN>
</DIV>

Notice the style assignment hierarchy: setting color by inherited scripting
Here is the HTML code for the example above:

<DIV CLASS="textBlue" STYLE="color: red" onMouseOver="this.style.color = 'tan'" 
  onMouseOut="this.style.color = 'purple'">
  <SPAN>
    Notice the style assignment hierarchy: setting color by inherited scripting
  </SPAN>
</DIV>

Notice the style assignment hierarchy: setting color by own CLASS
Here is the HTML code for the example above:

<DIV CLASS="textBlue" STYLE="color: red" onMouseOver="this.style.color = 'tan'" 
  onMouseOut="this.style.color = 'purple'">
  <SPAN CLASS="textYellow">Notice the style assignment hierarchy: 
    setting color by own CLASS 
  </SPAN>
</DIV>

Notice the style assignment hierarchy: setting color by own inline STYLE
Here is the HTML code for the example above:

<DIV CLASS="textBlue" STYLE="color: red" onMouseOver="this.style.color = 'tan'" 
  onMouseOut="this.style.color = 'purple'">
  <SPAN CLASS="textOrange" STYLE="color: magenta">
    Notice the style assignment hierarchy: setting color by own inline STYLE 
  </SPAN>
</DIV>

Notice the style assignment hierarchy: setting color by own scripting
Here is the HTML code for the example above:

<DIV CLASS="textBlue" STYLE="color: red" onMouseOver="this.style.color = 'tan'" 
  onMouseOut="this.style.color = 'purple'">
  <SPAN CLASS="textOrange" STYLE="color: magenta" 
    onMouseOver="this.style.color = 'green'" 
    onMouseOut="this.style.color = 'brown'">
    Notice the style assignment hierarchy: setting color by own scripting 
  </SPAN>
</DIV>

Learn more about the subject in Column 66, Dynamic Styles.