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How is the font determined for this CSS and the role of body selector
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Sure! The CSS rule* { font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; }uses the universal selector*to apply the specified font family to all elements on the web page. Let’s break down this rule in detail:Universal Selector:
*The universal selector is represented by an asterisk
*. It matches every element on the web page, meaning that any styling rules applied with the universal selector will be applied to all HTML elements, unless overridden by more specific rules later in the stylesheet.Property:
font-familyThe
font-familyproperty in CSS specifies the typeface that should be used for the text within the selected elements. In this case, you are setting thefont-familyto “Comic Sans MS”, which is a playful, informal font.Application
Here’s a step-by-step explanation of what happens when you use the universal selector with the
font-familyproperty:- Selection of Elements: The universal selector
*selects all elements on the web page. This includes everything from the<body>element to<div>,<span>,<p>,<h1>,<a>, and every other HTML element. -
Font Application: The
font-family: "Comic Sans MS";rule is applied to each of these selected elements. This means that the text within every element on the page will be displayed using the “Comic Sans MS” font, unless a more specific rule overrides this setting.
Specificity and Overriding
CSS rules can be overridden by more specific selectors. For example:
* { font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; } body { font-family: "Courier New"; }In this example, the
bodyelement will use “Courier New” instead of “Comic Sans MS” because thebodyselector is more specific than the universal selector. However, all other elements will still use “Comic Sans MS”.Inheritance
Some CSS properties, like
font-family, are inherited by child elements from their parent elements. This means that if you set afont-familyon the<body>, all child elements within the body will inherit that font unless they have their ownfont-familyrule.For example:
* { font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; } body { font-family: "Courier New"; } p { font-family: "Arial"; }- The
bodywill use “Courier New”. - All elements within the body will inherit “Courier New”, except
<p>elements, which will use “Arial”. - All other elements not specifically styled (e.g.,
<div>,<h1>, etc.) will use “Courier New” because they inherit it from the body.
Practical Implications
Using the universal selector with
font-familyis a quick way to set a default font for your entire web page. However, it’s often better to set default styles on thebodyelement and use more specific selectors as needed for better control and to avoid potential issues with specificity and overriding.Example of setting a default font more appropriately:
body { font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; }This approach ensures that all text on the page uses “Comic Sans MS” by default, but allows for more specific overrides when necessary.
- Selection of Elements: The universal selector
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