Unlocking the Power of CSS Attribute Selectors

What are Attribute Selectors?

Attribute selectors are used to target HTML elements based on their attributes or attribute values. An attribute is made up of two parts: the name and value. For example, a div element might have an id attribute with a value of “header”. With attribute selectors, you can style elements based on these attributes, making it easier to write efficient and effective code.

Types of Attribute Selectors

There are several types of attribute selectors, each with its own unique functionality:

• [attribute]: This selector targets elements with a specified attribute, regardless of its value.
• [attribute="value"]: This selector targets elements with a specified attribute and value.
• [attribute~="value"]: This selector targets elements with a specified attribute value containing a specific word.
• [attribute|="value"]: This selector targets elements with a specified attribute value or elements with the specified value followed by a hyphen (-).
• [attribute^="value"]: This selector targets elements whose attribute value begins with the specified value.
• [attribute$="value"]: This selector targets elements whose attribute value ends with the specified value.
• [attribute*="value"]: This selector targets elements whose attribute value contains the specified value.

CSS Basic Selectors vs. CSS Attribute Selectors

While basic CSS selectors are useful, attribute selectors offer more precision and control. With attribute selectors, you can style elements based on their attributes, making it easier to write efficient and effective code.

For example, suppose you want to assign all links that have an href beginning with https a font size of 50px. With attribute selectors, you can use the [attribute^="value"] selector to achieve this:

a[href^="https"] {
  font-size: 50px;
}

Real-World Applications

Attribute selectors have numerous real-world applications. For instance, you can use them to:

• • Style links with a .pdf extension:

a[href$=".pdf"] {
  color: red;
}

• • Target elements with a specific id or class attribute:

#header {
  background-color: blue;
}

.element {
  font-size: 18px;
}

• • Style elements based on their data-* attributes:

div[data-role="button"] {
  border: 1px solid black;
}