aliascss

Introduction

Welcome to Aliascss!

AliasCSS or in short acss, is a post css processor/compiler means it lets you first define classnames in your html element then get processed to corresponig css declaration.

What it is?

With aliascss you can style you webpages using class attribute with post-define classname, for example

<h1 class="color-red font-size-12px display-inline-block"> Hello world</h1>

OR, using shorthand

<h1 class="c-red fs-12px dib"> Hello world</h1>

Here we have defined the color, font size, display properties of h1 element first, then aliascss will compiles and defines the classname with the corresponing property and value/s in the styles tag or stylesheets. Generally every aliascss classname hold single propery and value for it.

Getting Started

Install

NPM

npm install aliascss

CDN

https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/aliascss@latest/dist/aliascss.js

Documentation

If you know CSS then your know already Aliascss. Aliascss let you to apply css directly in the html with the help of post define classname. Let's assume we need to style our h1 element

<h1>Hello World!</h1>

Normally , we will apply style as shown below

h1{
   color:gray;
   font-size: 18px;
   }

Now , if we want same result using aliascss, then

<h1 class="c-gray fs-18px">Hello World!</h1>
    

Or by using full semantic classnames

<h1 class="color-gray font-size18px">Hello World!</h1>
    

Here if you look carefully the classnames is doing dual responsibility. one is defining classnames and second is also defining css declaration for itself. In AliasCSS ecosystem we first use classnames, then the compiler will define classnames and corresponding property and value in the stylesheet/style tag. you don't have to use aliascss compiler in production.

Here are few other examples of post define classnames:-

Aliascss classnames	Short-hand	Corresponding style aplied
display-flex	df	display:flex
list-style-none	lsn	list-style:none
margin-left-20px	ml20px	margin-left:20px
margin-top-20px	mt-20px	margin-top:-20px
border1px-solid-ccc	b1px-s-ccc	border:1px solid #ccc
backgound-color-10p20p30p	bgc-10p20p30p	background-color:rgb(10%, 20%, 30%)
opacity-1	o-1	opacity:1
opacity-0d5	o-0d5	opacity:0.5

There are two ways to use class name, either using shorhand e.g c-red m20px df p20p30px l-30px OR full semantic class name color-red display-flex padding20px30px left-30px

Selector and Psedu [ hover: focus: active: ]

We can also target psedu selector / element in your class name by using flags(-- or for shorhand -) e.g --hover or -h. For an example:-

<div class="bgc-cccccc --hover-bgc-yellow> Hi! i will change background color on hover</div>

Here by using --hover flag ( can be used -h shorthand flag) we are telling to use it in :hover state

Flags:-

flags	short-flag	corresponding css declaration
--active	-a	:active
--after	-af	::after
--after-hover	-afh	::after:hover
--before	-bf	::before
--before-hover	-bfh	::before:hover
--checked	-ch	:checked
--default	-de	:default
--disabled	-di	:disabled
--empty	-em	:empty
--enabled	-en	:enabled
--first-child	-fc	:first-child
--first-letter	-fl	::first-letter
--first-line	-fln	::first-line
--first-of-type	-fot	:first-of-type
--focus	-fo	:focus
--hover	-h	:hover
--hover-after	-haf	:hover::after
--hover-before	-hbf	:hover::before
--hover-target	-htg	:hover:target
--in-range	-ir	:in-range
--indeterminate	-ind	:indeterminate
--invalid	-inv	:invalid
--last-child	-lc	:last-child
--last-of-type	-lot	:last-of-type
--link	-ln	:link
--not-	-n-	:not
--nth-child-	-nc-	:nth-child
--nth-last-child-	-nlc-	:nth-last-child
--nth-last-of-type-	-nlot-	:nth-last-of-type
--nth-of-type-	-not-	:nth-of-type
--only-of-type	-oot	:only-of-type
--only-child	-oc	:only-child
--optional	-op	:optional
--out-of-range	-oor	:out-of-range
--placeholder	-ph	::placeholder
--read-only	-ro	:read-only
--read-write	-rw	:read-write
--required	-rq	:required
--root	-rt	:root
--selection	-s	::selection
--scrollbar	-sb	::-webkit-scrollbar
--scrollbar-track	-st	::-webkit-scrollbar-track
--scrollbar-thumb	-stm	::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb
--target	-tg	:target
--valid	-v	:valid
--visited	-vi	:visited

Examples

classname	shorthand	css	Remarks
--hover-display-flex	-h-df	:hover{display: flex ;}
--focus-list-style-none	-fo-lsn	:focus{list-style:none;}
--nth-child-2n-margin-left20px	-nc-2n-ml20px	:nth-child(2n){margin-left:20px ;}

Similary , we can also tell aliascss classname to use selector by using '_' at the begining class name . eg:-

<div class="_h3-c-white _p-fs14px"" >
   <h3>Hello World</h3>
   <p> Welcome to AliasCSS </p>
</div>\

AliasCSS will compile above classnames as below:-

....

._h3-c-white h3{
   color:white ;
}
._p-fs14px p{
   font-size:14px ;
}

Selector Guide Table

Aliascss Classsname	compiled
_div-df	._div-df div{..}
__div-df	._div-df > div{..}
___div-df	._div-df + div{..}
____div-df	._div-df ~ div{..}
_all-c-red	._all-c-red *{..}

Targeting Devices [ Making Responsive ]

To target Device , we can simply add device prefix at the very begening of classname. for eg:-

<p class="xs-dn">This will not show in smmaler device</p>

or using semantic classname

<p class="xs-display-none">This will not show in smaller devices</p>

Device Guide Table

AliasCSS Device Prefix	CSS Selector
mob	@media (max-width : 768px)
mobile	@media (max-width : 768px)
tab	@media (min-width : 768px)
lab	@media (min-width : 992px)
desk	@media (min-width : 1200px)
hd	@media (min-width : 1408px)
print	@media print
xs	@media (max-width : 576px)
sm	@media (min-width : 576px)
md	@media (min-width : 768px)
lg	@media (min-width : 992px)
xl	@media (min-width : 1200px)

Any of the above prefix can be used, these prefix must be the at the begining of the classnames. Few examples:-

Define

<div class="xs-flex-direction-column">...</div>
//using shorthand <div class="xs-fdc">...</div>

Compiled

@media (max-width : 768px) {
    .mob-flex-direction-column{
            flex-direction: column ;
        }
}

---

Define

<div class="xs_p-flex-direction-column">...</div>
//using shorthand <div class="xs_p-fdc">...</div>

Compiled

@media (max-width : 576px) { 
    .xs_p-flex-direction-column p{
        flex-direction: column ;
    }
}

Define

<div class="tab-width500px">...</div>
//using shorthand <div class="tab-w500p">...</div>

Compiled

@media (min-width : 768px){
    .tab-width500px{
         width:500px ;
    }
}

Classname Defination Guide

Rules for defining classnames

• In general every aliasCSS classnames are derived from css property and value we want to apply.i.e display-flex, color-red, wigth100px, margin-left2rem etc, similary short-hand classnames are also derived for first letter of property follwed by every first letter after '-'followed by first letter of value and evry first letter after '-' if it has any. For Example

display:flex => df or display-flex
font-weight-bold=> fwb or font-weight-bold
animation-timing-function: ease-in-out => atfeio or animation-timing-function-ease-in-out
width:100px => w100px or width100px 
width:-100px => w-100px or width-100px

if there is '-' in classname before length or numeric unit it will treated as negative value. e.g w100px => width:100px , w-100px =>width:-100px , margin100px=> margin:100px, margin-100px => margin:-110px, fs-12px => font-size:-12px; fs12px=> font-size:12px; Becarefull when using '-' before numeric value.

• Repace "." with d and "%" with p, note this only appicable to numeric and length unit . "d" must be between two numeric value. i.e d5 not != .5, use 0d5 => 0.5

Acss	shorthand	Css
margin0d75rem	m0d75rem	margin:0.75rem
margin-0d75rem	m-0d75rem	margin:-0.75rem
width50p	w50p	width:50%
opacity0d5	o0d5	opacity:0.5

Length [property whose value are in length ]

Syntax:- property[-]?[value]

classname	shorthand	css	Remarks
margin100px	m100px	margin:100px
margin1em	m1em	margin:1em
margin50p	m50p	margin:50%	Use 'p' for %
margin0d5rem	m0d5rem	margin:0.5rem	use 'd' for .
margin20px30px20px40px	m20px30px20px40px	margin:20px 30px 20px 40px
margin-20px30px-20px40px	m-20px30px-20px40px	margin:-20px 30px -20px 40px
margin-left150px	ml150px	margin-left:150px
border-radius15px	br15px`	border-radius:15px
max-width500px	xw500pc	max-width:500px
min-width300px	mw300p	min-width:300px

---

Color

Color by name and Hexadecimal value

Syntax:- [color|c] - [name| hexadecimal value without #]

classname	shorthand	css	Remarks
color-red	c-red	color:red
color-cccccc	c-cccccc	color:#cccccc
color-fff	c-fff`	color:#fff
border-color-yellow	bc-yellow	border-color:yellow
background-color-red	bgc-red	background-color:red

Color by rgb/rgba

syntax:[color|c]-[000-255][000-255][000-255]

or,

syntax:[color|c]-[0-100]p[0-100]p[00-100]p

RGB is represented by 3 digit [000-255] for each R G and B value, Incase of percentage 'p' should be used to represent '%'. Alpha can be represent by either decimal or percentage value, 'd' should be used in palce of ' . '.

classname	shorthand	css	Remarks
color-000000000	c-000000000	color:rgb(000,000,000)
color-024245100	c-024245100	color:rgb(024,245,100)
color-1110230450d5	c-1110230450d5	color:rgba(111,023,045,0.4)
border-color-11122200050p	bc-11122200050p	border-color:rgba(111,222,000,50%)
background-color-30p40p60p	bgc-30p40p60p	background-color:rgb(30%,40%,60%)

Color in HSL /HSLA

Syntax [colcor|c]-[000-359][0-100]p[0-100]p

In hsl() first three digit represent Hue or h followed by percentge of 'saturation ' followed by percentage of light, optionally followed by alpha in percentage of decimal

classname	shorthand	css	Remarks
color-25050p30p	c-25050p30p	color:hsl(250,50%,30%)
color-25050p30p50p	c-25050p30p50p	color:hsla(250,50%,30%,50%)
color-11150p0p0d5	c-1110230450d5	color:hsla(111,50%,0%,0.5)

---

Border | Border-Radius| Box-Shadow

border

classname	shorthand	css	Remarks
border1px-solid-red	b1px-s-red	border:1px solid red
border1px-solid-30p40p50p	b2px-s-30p40p50p	border:1px solid rgb(30%,40%,50%)
border-bottom2px-dashed-cccccc	bb2px-ds-cccccc	border-bottom:2px dashed #cccccc

border-radius

classname	shorthand	css	Remarks
border-radius5px	br5px	border-radius:5px
border-radius10px5px	br10px5px	border-radius:10px 5px
border-radius5px10px30px4px	br5px10px30px4px	border-radius:4px 10px 30px 4px
border-bottom-left-radius5px60px	bblr5px60px	border-bottom-left-radius:5px 60px ;
border-top-right-radius6p	btrr6p	border-top-right-radius:6% ;

box-shadow

classname	shorthand	css	Remarks
box-shadow1px2px3px4px-pink	bxs1px2px3px4px-pink	box-shadow:1px 2px 3px 4px pink
box-shadow0px2px-000000000	bxs0px2px-000000000	box-shadow:0px 2px rgb(000,000,000)
box-shadow-2px-2px-cccccc	bxs-2px-2px-cccccc	box-shadow:-2px -2px #cccccc
box-shadow0px2px-000000000--2px5px1px-red	bxs0px2px-000000000----2px5px1px-red	box-shadow:0px 2px rgb(000,000,000),2px 5px 1px red	Multiple Box-shadow

---

Fonts

classname	shorthand	css	Remarks
font-family-serif	ff-serif	font-family:serif
font-family-san-serif	ff-san-serif	font-family:san-serif
font-family-Times_New_Roman	ff-Times_New_Roman	font-family:"Times New Roman"	Use'_' for space
font-family-Times_New_Roman--Times--serif	ff-Times_New_Roman--Times--serif	font-family:"Times New Roman" , Times , serif	Multiple Fonts

Transform

classname	shorthand	css	Remarks
transform-rotate45deg	tf-r45deg	transform:rotate(45deg)
transform-scale2--rotate25deg	tf-s2--r25deg	transform:scale(2) rotate(25deg)	Multiple value
transform-rotate45deg	tf-r45deg	transform:rotate(45deg)
transform-rotate3d1_-1_1_45deg	tf-r3d1_-1_1_45deg	transform:rotate3d(1, -1, 1, 45deg)
transform-matrix0d8_0d7_-0d8_0.866_0_0	tf-m0d8_0d7_-0d8_0.866_0_0	transform:matrix(0.8, 0.7, -0.8, 0.866, 0, 0)
transform-rotateX45deg	tf-rx45deg	transform:rotateX(45deg)
transform-rotate45deg	tf-r45deg	transform:rotate(45deg)
transform:-scaleX2	tf-sx2	transform:scaleX(2)
transform-skew45deg_-45deg	tf-sk45deg	transform:skew(45deg, -45deg)
transform-translate20px_10px	tf-t20px_10px	transform:translate(20px, 10px)
transform-rotate45deg	tf-r45deg	transform:rotate(45deg)
transform-rotate45deg	tf-r45deg	transform:rotate(45deg)

Transition

classname	shorthand	css	Remarks
transition-all0d5s	tn-all0d5s	transition:all 0.5s
transition-width0d35s	tn-width0d35s	transition:width 0.5s
transition-width-0d35s	tn-width-0d35s	transition:width 0.5s	'-' used before numeric time unit will not taken as negative value
transition-transform0d35s	tn-transform0d35s	transition:transform 0.35s

Filter

classname	shorthand	css	Remarks
filter-blur4px	fl-b4px	filter:blur(4px)
filter-unset	flu	fliter:unset
filter-brightness50p--blur4px--invert50p	fl-br50p--b4px--i50p	filter:brightness( 50% ) blur( 4px ) invert( 50% )
filter-drop-shadow8px8px10px-gray	fl-ds8px8px10px-gray	filter:drop-shadow( 8px 8px 10px gray )
filter-hue-rotate40deg	fl-hr40deg	filter:hue-rotate( 40deg )

Gradient

classname	shorthand	css	Remarks
background-linear-gradient-red-blue	bg-lg-red-blue	background:linear-gradient( red, blue )
background-linear-gradient-red_10p-blue_90p	bg-lg-red_10p-blue_20p	background:linear-gradient( red 10%, blue 90% )
background-repeating-linear-gradient-red_10p-blue_90p	bg-rlg-red_10p-blue_20p	background:repeating-linear-gradient( red 10%, blue 90% )
background-linear-gradient-to-right-red_10p-blue_90p	bg-lg-tr-red_10p-blue_90p	background:linear-gradient(to right, red 10%, blue 90% )
background-linear-gradient45deg-red_10p-blue_90p	bg-lg45deg-red_10p-blue_90p	background:linear-gradient(45deg, red 10%, blue 90% )
background-radial-gradient-red_10p-blue_90p	bg-rg-red_10p-blue_90p	background:radial-gradient( red 10%, blue 90% )
background-repeating-radial-gradient-circle-blue_5p-skyblue_23p	bg-rrg-circle-blue_5p-skyblue_23p	background:repeating-radial-gradient( circle, blue 5%, skyblue 23% )
background-conic-gradient-red-blue	bg-cg-red-blue	background:conic-gradient( red, blue )

CSS Variable

classname	shorthand	css	Remarks
color--var--name	c--var--name	color: var(--name)
width--var--side-bar-width	w--var--side-bar-width	width: var(--side-bar-width)

NPM Guide

With npm version there are lots of exrta front-end / workflow feature we can use out of the box.

npm intstall aliascss

To Compiler folder from command line

npx aliascss 'public/*.html' 'public/css/acss.ccc'

output css file must be there if not it should be created manully.

Guide-npx aliascsss 'glob-patterm' 'path/to/output/style.css'

Watch for files

npx aliascss 'public/*.html' 'public/css/acss.ccc' --watch

@package.json

....
 "scripts": {
    ...
    "aliascss-build": "aliascss 'public/*.html' 'public/css/aliascss.css'",
    "aliascss-watch": "aliascss-build --watch"
  }
  ...
  

.aliascss.config.js

.aliascss.config.js gives you more feature and power to the workflow.

@.aliascss.config.js

Basic structure of config file

export let config= {
    //input files in glob pattern to get compiled
    input:'public/*.html',

    //Output css file , must exist or should be created manully if not exist
    output:'./public/css/acss.css',

    //Truncate the css file , you should let it true unless you know what your are doing
    truncate:true,
    	//input glob patterns, can be array of folder or files or both,

    //    
	custom:{
		color:{
			'main':"rgb(12,23,45)",// now you can use bgc-main
			'theme':'#c6c6c6'

		},
		length:{
			'1cv':'25%'
		}

	},
    // predine classname and
	extend:{
		//in browser-mode you can simply group class="c-blue" acss-group="color-primary"
		'outline-color':'color: blue',
		//now you can use it with device or seduo --hover-outline-color
	},
    //if you want to add some css statement 
	statement:`
        :root{
            --bg-color: teal;
            --outline-color:blue;
            --col-1:8.33%
            --col-2:calc(var(--col-1)*2)
            --col-3:calc(var(--col-1)*3)
            --col-4:calc(var(--col-1)*4)
            --col-5:calc(var(--col-1)*5)
            --col-6:50%
            --col-8:calc(var(--col-1)*8)
            --col-12:100*
        }

        body{
            font:BlinkMacSystemFont , -apple-system , "Segoe UI" , Roboto , Oxygen , Ubuntu , Cantarell , "Fira Sans" , "Droid Sans" , "Helvetica Neue" , Helvetica , Arial , sans-serif , "Apple Color Emoji" , "Segoe UI Emoji" , "Segoe UI Symbol" , "Noto Color Emoji";
        }

	`,

	// group classname in single classname
	group:{
		'container':'p15px border1px-solid-light',
		'row':'--hover-filter-blur1px '
	},
    //if some of the classname collide with other CSS framework like bootstrap and tailwindcss
    //You wanna  tell aliasccss to ignore it...
	ignore:['fs12px', 'c-red'],


}

Now you can do,

npx aliascss --config

Watch

npx aliascss --config --watch

@package.json

....
 "scripts": {
    ...
    "aliascss-build": "aliascss --config'",
    "aliascss-watch": "aliascss --config --watch"
  }
  ...