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diff --git a/docs/code-quality/coding-style/css_guidelines.rst b/docs/code-quality/coding-style/css_guidelines.rst new file mode 100644 index 0000000000..e962f24d69 --- /dev/null +++ b/docs/code-quality/coding-style/css_guidelines.rst @@ -0,0 +1,572 @@ +CSS Guidelines +============== + +This document contains guidelines defining how CSS inside the Firefox +codebase should be written, it is notably relevant for Firefox front-end +engineers. + +Basics +------ + +Here are some basic tips that can optimize reviews if you are changing +CSS: + +- Avoid ``!important`` but if you have to use it, make sure it's + obvious why you're using it (ideally with a comment). The + `Overriding CSS`_ section contains more information about this. +- Avoid magic numbers; prefer automatic sizing or alignment methods. + Some examples to avoid: + + - absolutely positioned elements + - hardcoded values such as: ``vertical-align: -2px;`` . The reason + you should avoid such "hardcoded" values is that, they don't + necessarily work for all font-size configurations. + +- Avoid setting styles in JavaScript. It's generally better to set a + class and then specify the styles in CSS. +- ``classList`` is generally better than ``className``. There's less + chance of overwriting an existing class. +- Only use generic selectors such as ``:last-child``, when it is what + you mean semantically. If not, using a semantic class name is more + descriptive and usually better. + +Boilerplate +~~~~~~~~~~~ + +Make sure each file starts with the standard copyright header (see +`License Boilerplate <https://www.mozilla.org/MPL/headers/>`__). + +Before adding more CSS +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +It is good practice to check if the CSS that is being written is needed, +it can be the case that a common component has been already written +could be reused with or without changes. Most of the time, the common +component already follows the a11y/theme standards defined in this +guide. So, when possible, always prefer editing common components to +writing your own. + +Also, it is good practice to introduce a common class when the new +element you are styling reuses some styles from another element, this +allows the maintenance cost and the amount of code duplication to be +reduced. + +Formatting +---------- + +Spacing & Indentation +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +- 2 spaces indentation is preferred +- Add a space after each comma, **except** within color functions: + +.. code:: css + + linear-gradient(to bottom, black 1px, rgba(255,255,255,0.2) 1px) + +- Always add a space before ``!important``. + +Omit units on 0 values +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +Do this: + +.. code:: css + + margin: 0; + +Not this: + +.. code:: css + + margin: 0px; + +Use expanded syntax +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +It is often harder to understand what the shorthand is doing and the +shorthand can also hide some unwanted default values. It is good to +privilege expanded syntax to make your intentions explicit. + +Do this: + +.. code:: css + + border-color: red; + +Not this: + +.. code:: css + + border: red; + +Put multiple selectors on different lines +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +Do this: + +.. code:: css + + h1, + h2, + h3 { + font-family: sans-serif; + text-align: center; + } + +Not this: + +.. code:: css + + h1, h2, h3 { + font-family: sans-serif; + text-align: center; + } + +Naming standards for class names +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +- ``lower-case-with-dashes`` is the most common. +- But ``camelCase`` is also used sometimes. Try to follow the style of + existing or related code. + +Other tips +~~~~~~~~~~ + +- Assume ``="true"`` in attribute selectors. + + - Example: Use ``option[checked]``, not ``option[checked="true"]``. + +- Avoid ID selectors unless it is really the wanted goal, since IDs + have higher specificity and therefore are harder to override. +- Using descendant selectors is good practice for performance when + possible: + + - For example: + ``.autocomplete-item[selected] > .autocomplete-item-title`` would + be more efficient than + ``.autocomplete-item[selected] .autocomplete-item-title`` + +Overriding CSS +-------------- + +Before overriding any CSS rules, check whether overriding is really +needed. Sometimes, when copy-pasting older code, it happens that the +code in question contains unnecessary overrides. This could be because +the CSS that it was overriding got removed in the meantime. In this +case, dropping the override should work. + +It is also good practice to look at whether the rule you are overriding +is still needed: maybe the UX spec for the component has changed and +that rule can actually be updated or removed. When this is the case, +don't be afraid to remove or update that rule. + +Once the two things above have been checked, check if the other rule you +are overriding contains ``!important``, if that is case, try putting it +in question, because it might have become obsolete. + +Afterwards, check the specificity of the other selector; if it is +causing your rule to be overridden, you can try reducing its +specificity, either by simplifying the selector or by changing where the +rule is placed in the stylesheet. If this isn't possible, you can also +try introducing a ``:not()`` to prevent the other rule from applying, +this is especially relevant for different element states (``:hover``, +``:active``, ``[checked]`` or ``[disabled]``). However, never try to +increase the selector of the rule you are adding as it can easily become +hard to understand. + +Finally, once you have checked all the things above, you can permit +yourself to use ``!important`` along with a comment why it is needed. + +Using CSS variables +------------------- + +Adding new variables +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +Before adding new CSS variables, please consider the following +questions: + +#. **Is the variable value changed at runtime?** + *(Either from JavaScript or overridden by another CSS file)* + **If the answer is no**, consider using a preprocessor variable or + inlining the value. + +#. **Is the variable value used multiple times?** + **If the answer is no and the value isn't changed at runtime**, then + you likely don't need a CSS variable. + +#. **Is there an alternative to using the variable like inheriting or + using the ``currentcolor`` keyword?** + Using inheriting or using ``currentcolor`` will prevent repetition of + the value and it is usually good practice to do so. + +In general, it's good to first think of how some CSS could be written +cleanly without the CSS variable(s) and then think of how the CSS +variable could improve that CSS. + +Using variables +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +Use the variable according to its naming +^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ + +Do this: + +.. code:: css + + xul|tab:hover { + background-color: var(--in-content-box-background-hover); + } + +Not this: + +.. code:: css + + #certificateErrorDebugInformation { + background-color: var(--in-content-box-background-hover); + } + +Localization +------------ + +Text Direction +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +- For margins, padding and borders, use + ``inline-start``/``inline-end`` rather than ``left``/``right``. + *Example:* Use ``margin-inline-start: 3px;`` instead of + ``margin-left: 3px``. +- For RTL-aware positioning (left/right), use + ``inset-inline-start``/``inset-inline-end``. +- For RTL-aware float layouts, ``float: inline-start|inline-end`` can + be used instead of ``float: left|right``. +- The RTL-aware equivalents of + ``border-{top/bottom}-{left/right}-radius`` are + ``border-{start/end}-{start/end}-radius`` +- When there is no special RTL-aware property available, use the pseudo + ``:-moz-locale-dir(ltr|rtl)`` (for XUL files) or ``:dir(ltr|rtl)`` + (for HTML files). +- Remember that while a tab content's scrollbar still shows on the + right in RTL, an overflow scrollbar will show on the left. +- Write ``padding: 0 3px 4px;`` instead of + ``padding: 0 3px 4px 3px;``. This makes it more obvious that the + padding is symmetrical (so RTL won't be an issue). + +.. note:: + + See `CSS Logical Properties and + Values <https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/CSS_Logical_Properties>`__ + for more information. + +Testing +~~~~~~~ + +To test for RTL layouts, you can go to ``about:config`` and set +``intl.uidirection`` to ``-1``. + +Writing cross-platform CSS +-------------------------- + +Firefox supports many different platforms and each of those platforms +can contain many different configurations: + +- Windows 7, 8 and 10 + + - Default theme + - Aero basic (Windows 7, 8) + - Windows classic (Windows 7) + - High contrast (All versions) + +- Linux +- macOS + +File structure +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +- The ``browser/`` directory contains styles specific to Firefox +- The ``toolkit/`` directory contains styles that are shared across all + toolkit applications (Thunderbird and SeaMonkey) + +Under each of those two directories, there is a ``themes`` directory +containing 4 sub-directories: + +- ``shared`` +- ``linux`` +- ``osx`` +- ``windows`` + +The ``shared`` directories contain styles shared across all 3 platforms, +while the other 3 directories contain styles respective to their +platform. + +For new CSS, when possible try to privilege using the ``shared`` +directory, instead of writing the same CSS for the 3 platform specific +directories, especially for large blocks of CSS. + +Content CSS vs. Theme CSS +^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ + +The following directories also contain CSS: + +- ``browser/base/content/`` +- ``toolkit/content/`` + +These directories contain content CSS, that applies on all platforms, +which is styling deemed to be essential for the browser to behave +correctly. To determine whether some CSS is theme-side or content-side, +it is useful to know that certain CSS properties are going to lean one +way or the other: color - 99% of the time it will be theme CSS, overflow +- 99% content. + ++-----------------+--------------+----------------+----------------+ +| 99% theme | 70% theme | 70% content | 99% content | ++=================+==============+================+================+ +| font-\*, color, | line-height, | cursor, width, | overflow, | +| \*-color, | padding, | max-width, | direction, | +| border-\*, | margin | top, | display, | +| -moz-appearance | | bottom [2]_, | \*-align, | +| [1]_ | | etc | align-\*, | +| | | | \*-box-\*, | +| | | | flex-\*, order | ++-----------------+--------------+----------------+----------------+ + +If some CSS is layout or functionality related, then it is likely +content CSS. If it is esthetics related, then it is likely theme CSS. + +When importing your stylesheets, it's best to import the content CSS +before the theme CSS, that way the theme values get to override the +content values (which is probably what you want), and you're going to +want them both after the global values, so your imports will look like +this: + +.. code:: html + + <?xml-stylesheet href="chrome://global/skin/global.css" type="text/css"?> + <?xml-stylesheet href="chrome://browser/content/path/module.css" type="text/css"?> + <?xml-stylesheet href="chrome://browser/skin/path/module.css" type="text/css"?> + +.. [1] -moz-appearance is tricky. Generally, when specifying + -moz-appearance: foo; you're giving hints as to how something should + act, however -moz-appearance: none; is probably saying 'ignore + browser preconceptions - I want a blank sheet', so that's more + visual. However -moz-appearance values aren't implemented and don't + behave consistently across platforms, so idealism aside + -moz-appearance should always be in theme CSS. + +.. [2] However there is probably a better way than using absolute + positioning. + +Colors +~~~~~~ + +For common areas of the Firefox interface (panels, toolbar buttons, +etc.), mozilla-central often comes with some useful CSS variables that +are adjusted with the correct values for different platform +configurations, so using those CSS variables can definitively save some +testing time, as you can assume they already work correctly. + +Using the ``currentcolor`` keyword or inheriting is also good practice, +because sometimes the needed value is already in the color or on the +parent element. This is especially useful in conjunction with icons +using ``-moz-context-properties: fill;`` where the icon can adjust to +the right platform color automatically from the text color. It is also +possible to use ``currentcolor`` with other properties like +``opacity`` or ``fill-opacity`` to have different +opacities of the platform color. + +High contrast mode +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +Content area +^^^^^^^^^^^^ + +On Windows high contrast mode, in the content area, Gecko does some +automatic color adjustments regarding page colors. Part of those +adjustments include making all ``box-shadow`` invisible, so this is +something to be aware of if you create a focus ring or a border using +the ``box-shadow`` property: consider using a ``border`` or an +``outline`` if you want the border/focus ring to stay visible in +high-contrast mode. An example of such bug is `bug +1516767 <https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1516767>`__. + +Another adjustment to be aware of is that Gecko removes all the +``background-image`` when high contrast mode is enabled. Consider using +an actual ``<img>`` tag (for HTML documents) or ``list-style-image`` +(for XUL documents) if rendering the image is important. + +If you are not using Windows, one way to test against those adjustments +on other platforms is: + +- Going to about:preferences +- Clicking on the "Colors..." button in the "Fonts & Colors" + sub-section of the "Language and Appearance" section +- Under "Override the colors specified by the page with your selections + above", select the "Always" option + +Chrome area +^^^^^^^^^^^ + +The automatic adjustments previously mentioned only apply to pages +rendered in the content area. The chrome area of Firefox uses colors as +authored, which is why using pre-defined variables, ``currentcolor`` or +inheritance is useful to integrate with the system theme with little +hassle. + +If not, as a last resort, using `system +colors <https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/color_value#system_colors>`__ +also works for non-default Windows themes or Linux. In general, the +following colors are used: + +- ``-moz-Field``: textbox or field background colors, also used as the + background color of listboxes or trees. +- ``-moz-FieldText``: textbox or field text colors, also used as the + text color of listboxes or trees. +- ``-moz-Dialog``: window or dialog background color. +- ``-moz-DialogText``: window or dialog text color. +- ``GrayText``: used on disabled items as text color. Do not use it on + text that is not disabled to desemphsize text, because it does not + guarantee a sufficient contrast ratio for non-disabled text. +- ``ThreeDShadow``: Used as border on elements. +- ``ThreeDLightShadow``: Used as light border on elements. + +Using the background/text pairs is especially important to ensure the +contrast is respected in all situations. Never mix custom text colors +with a system background color and vice-versa. + +Note that using system colors is only useful for the chrome area, since +content area colors are overridden by Gecko anyway. + +Writing media queries +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +Boolean media queries +^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ + +Do this: + +.. code:: css + + @media (-moz-mac-yosemite-theme: 0) { + +Not this: + +.. code:: css + + @media not all and (-moz-mac-yosemite-theme) { + +Privilege CSS for most common configuration +^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ + +It is better to put the most common configuration (latest version of an +OS, or default theme for example) outside of the media query. In the +following example, ``-moz-mac-yosemite-theme`` targets macOS 10.10 and +higher, so it should be privileged over the styling for macOS 10.9. + +Do this: + +.. code:: css + + @media (-moz-mac-yosemite-theme: 0) { + #placesList { + box-shadow: inset -2px 0 0 hsla(0,0%,100%,.2); + } + } + +Not this: + +.. code:: css + + #placesList { + box-shadow: inset -2px 0 0 hsla(0,0%,100%,.2); + } + + @media (-moz-mac-yosemite-theme) { + #placesList { + box-shadow: none; + } + } + +Theme support +------------- + +Firefox comes built-in with 3 themes: default, light and dark. The +built-in light/dark themes are a bit special as they load the +``compacttheme.css`` stylesheet. In addition to this, Firefox supports a +variety of WebExtension themes that can be installed from AMO. For +testing purposes, `here is an example of a WebExtension +theme. <https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/arc-dark-theme-we/>`__ + +Writing theme-friendly CSS +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +- Some CSS variables that are pre-adjusted for different platforms are + also pre-adjusted for themes, so it's again a good idea to use them + for theme support. +- The text color of elements often contains valuable information from + the theme colors, so ``currentcolor``/inheritance is again a good + idea for theme support. +- Never write CSS specially for the built-in light/dark theme in + ``compacttheme.css`` unless that CSS isn't supposed to affect + WebExtension themes. +- These selectors can be used to target dark areas: + + - ``:-moz-lwtheme-brighttext``: dark window frame. + - ``:root[lwt-toolbar-field-brighttext]``: dark address bar and + searchbar. + - ``:root[lwt-popup-brighttext]``: dark arrow panels and + autocomplete panels. + - ``:root[lwt-sidebar-brighttext]``: dark sidebars. + +- If you'd like a different shade of a themed area and no CSS variable + is adequate, using colors with alpha transparency is usually a good + idea, as it will preserve the original theme author's color hue. + +Variables +~~~~~~~~~ + +For clarity, CSS variables that are only used when a theme is enabled +have the ``--lwt-`` prefix. + +Layout & performance +-------------------- + +Layout +~~~~~~ + +Mixing XUL flexbox and HTML flexbox can lead to undefined behavior. + +CSS selectors +~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +When targeting the root element of a page, using ``:root`` is the most +performant way of doing so. + +Reflows and style flushes +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +See :ref:`Performance best practices for Firefox front-end engineers` +for more information about this. + +Misc +---- + +Text aliasing +~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +When convenient, avoid setting the ``opacity`` property on +text as it will cause text to be aliased differently. + +HDPI support +~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +It's recommended to use SVG since it keeps the CSS clean when supporting +multiple resolutions. See the :ref:`SVG Guidelines` for more information +on SVG usage. + +However, if only 1x and 2x PNG assets are available, you can use this +``@media`` query to target higher density displays (HDPI): + +.. code:: css + + @media (min-resolution: 1.1dppx) |