LESS CSS

LESS CSS: Write Maintainable & Reusable CSS Code

LESS CSS is a CSS pre-processor that allows you to write more maintainable and reusable CSS code. It adds features like variables, mixins, operations, and nested rules to regular CSS. This helps reduce code repetition, speeds up development, and makes CSS easier to read and modify.

What is LESS CSS?

LESS CSS (which stands for Leaner Style Sheets) is an extension of regular CSS that makes writing CSS code faster, easier, and more fun. It is a CSS pre-processor, meaning it extends the regular CSS language by adding additional features that aren't available in basic CSS.

Some key features that LESS adds include:

• Variables - Define colors, sizes, selectors, etc. once and reuse them throughout the stylesheet.
• Mixins - Reuse entire blocks of styles in different rulesets.
• Operations - Perform math operations right inside CSS, e.g. increment/decrement values, convert pixels to ems, etc.
• Nested Rules - Nest selectors within each other to write less repetitive code.

With LESS, you write code using its extended syntax which includes all these handy features. This LESS code then gets compiled into regular CSS that browsers can understand and render on a webpage. So it's a 2-step process:

1. Write LESS code and save with a .less extension
2. Compile the .less files into .css files

The key benefit of using a pre-processor like LESS is that it speeds up development and makes writing complex, maintainable CSS easier. Things like changing a color theme or updating a layout spec are much simpler since the styles are more modular and reusable.

If you find yourself repeating lots of CSS code or always needing to override styles, then LESS can help make your CSS leaner and easier to manage.

LESS CSS Features

Official Links