In the world of web development, one of the major challenges faced by developers is efficient and optimal rendering of web pages. The containment property in CSS aims to improve performance and prevent excessive recalculation from design and layout overhead. With this feature, you can better manage the interactions of elements within a page.
Suppose we are dealing with a large component that has many HTML elements. In this case, to reduce rendering time and enhance performance, we can utilize containment. This property tells the browser that any changes made to an element confined by containment should not affect elements outside of it; consequently, the browser does not need to recalculate other elements under its influence.
CSS containment can be divided into four types: content containment, size containment, layout containment, and style containment. Each of these types can have specific effects on interactions and layouts. For example, with content containment, you can reduce the rendering time of header content and allow for easier management of external influences stemming from indirect calculations.
Using containment can enhance the user experience, as it leads to faster and smoother web pages. This feature is particularly useful for heavy and complex sites that require extensive data rearrangement and are often bloated. By effectively using this technique, you can utilize system resources better and improve the overall quality of your project.
Below are some practical examples of how to use this feature.
<style>
.container {
contain: layout size style;
}
</style>
<div class="container">
<p>Hello World!</p>
</div>
In the above example:
contain: layout size style; : This defines containment in three aspects: layout, size, and style.
<div class="container"> : This div is designated as the confined element.
The simple content held is named <p>Hello World!</p>, which resides within the confined element.