README.md
1# ShadyCSS
2
3ShadyCSS provides a library to simulate ShadowDOM style encapsulation (ScopingShim), a shim for the proposed CSS mixin `@apply` syntax (ApplyShim), and a library to integrate document-level stylesheets with both of the former libraries (CustomStyleInterface).
4
5## Requirements
6ShadyCSS requires support for the `<template>` element, ShadowDOM, MutationObserver, Promise, and Object.assign
7
8## Loading
9
10ShadyCSS can be used by loading the ScopingShim, ApplyShim, CustomStyleInterface, or any combination of those.
11
12The most-supported loading order is:
131. ScopingShim
141. ApplyShim
151. CustomStyleInterface
16
17All libraries will expose an object on `window` named `ShadyCSS` with the following interface:
18
19```js
20ShadyCSS = {
21 prepareTemplate(templateElement, elementName, elementExtension){},
22 styleElement(element){},
23 styleSubtree(element, overrideProperties){},
24 styleDocument(overrideProperties){},
25 getComputedStyleValue(element, propertyName){
26 return // style value for property name on element
27 },
28 nativeCss: Boolean,
29 nativeShadow: Boolean
30}
31```
32
33## About ScopingShim
34
35ScopingShim provides simulated ShadyDOM style encapsulation, and a shim for CSS Custom Properties.
36
37ScopingShim works by rewriting style contents and transforming selectors to enforce scoping.
38Additionally, if CSS Custom Properties is not detected, ScopingShim will replace CSS Custom Property usage with realized values.
39
40### Example:
41Here's an example of a custom element when Scoping Shim is not needed.
42
43```html
44<my-element>
45 <!-- shadow-root -->
46 <style>
47 :host {
48 display: block;
49 }
50 #container slot::slotted(*) {
51 color: gray;
52 }
53 #foo {
54 color: black;
55 }
56 </style>
57 <div id="foo">Shadow</div>
58 <div id="container">
59 <slot>
60 <!-- span distributed here -->
61 </slot>
62 </div>
63 <!-- /shadow-root -->
64 <span>Light</span>
65</my-element>
66```
67
68becomes:
69
70```html
71<style scope="my-element">
72my-element {
73 display: block;
74}
75#container.my-element > * {
76 color: gray;
77}
78#foo.my-element {
79 color: black;
80}
81</style>
82<my-element>
83<div id="foo">Shadow</div>
84<div id="container">
85 <span>Light</span>
86</div>
87</my-element>
88```
89
90## About ApplyShim
91
92ApplyShim provides a shim for the `@apply` syntax proposed at https://tabatkins.github.io/specs/css-apply-rule/, which expands the definition CSS Custom Properties to include objects that can be applied as a block.
93
94This is done by transforming the block definition into a set of CSS Custom Properties, and replacing uses of `@apply` with consumption of those custom properties.
95
96### Status:
97
98The `@apply` proposal has been abandoned in favor of the ::part/::theme [Shadow Parts spec](https://tabatkins.github.io/specs/css-shadow-parts/). Therefore, the ApplyShim library is deprecated and provided only for backwards compatibility. Support going forward will be limited to critical bug fixes.
99
100### Known Issues:
101
102* Mixin properties cannot be modified at runtime.
103* Nested mixins are not supported.
104* Shorthand properties are not expanded and may conflict with more explicit properties. Whenever shorthand notations are used in conjunction with their expanded forms in `@apply`, depending in the order of usage of the mixins, properties can be overridden. This means that using both `background-color: green;` and `background: red;` in two separate CSS selectors
105 can result in `background-color: transparent` in the selector that `background: red;` is specified.
106
107 ```css
108 #nonexistent {
109 --my-mixin: {
110 background: red;
111 }
112 }
113 ```
114 with an element style definition of
115 ```css
116 :host {
117 display: block;
118 background-color: green;
119 @apply(--my-mixin);
120 }
121 ```
122 results in the background being `transparent`, as an empty `background` definition replaces
123 the `@apply` definition.
124
125 For this reason, we recommend avoiding shorthand properties.
126
127### Example:
128
129Here we define a block called `--mixin` at the document level, and apply that block to `my-element` somewhere in the page.
130
131```css
132html {
133 --mixin: {
134 border: 2px solid black;
135 background-color: green;
136 }
137}
138
139my-element {
140 border: 1px dotted orange;
141 @apply --mixin;
142}
143```
144
145becomes:
146
147```css
148html {
149 --mixin_-_border: 2px solid black;
150 --mixin_-_background-color: green;
151}
152
153my-element {
154 border: var(--mixin_-_border, 1px dotted orange);
155 background-color: var(--mixin_-_background-color);
156}
157```
158
159## About CustomStyleInterface
160
161CustomStyleInterface provides API to process `<style>` elements that are not inside of
162ShadowRoots, and simulate upper-boundary style scoping for ShadyDOM.
163
164To add document-level styles to ShadyCSS, one can call `CustomStyleInterface.addCustomStyle(styleElement)` or `CustomStyleInterface.addCustomStyle({getStyle: () => styleElement})`
165
166An example usage of the document-level styling api can be found in `examples/document-style-lib.js`, and another example that uses a custom element wrapper can be found in `examples/custom-style-element.js`
167
168### Example:
169
170```html
171<style class="document-style">
172html {
173 --content-color: brown;
174}
175</style>
176<my-element>This text will be brown!</my-element>
177<script>
178CustomStyleInterface.addCustomStyle(document.querySelector('style.document-style'));
179</script>
180```
181
182Another example with a wrapper `<custom-style>` element
183
184```html
185<custom-style>
186 <style>
187 html {
188 --content-color: brown;
189 }
190 </style>
191</custom-style>
192<script>
193class CustomStyle extends HTMLElement {
194 constructor() {
195 CustomStyleInterface.addCustomStyle(this);
196 }
197 getStyle() {
198 return this.querySelector('style');
199 }
200}
201</script>
202<my-element>This this text will be brown!</my-element>
203```
204
205Another example with a function that produces style elements
206
207```html
208<my-element>This this text will be brown!</my-element>
209<script>
210CustomStyleInterface.addCustomStyle({
211 getStyle() {
212 const s = document.createElement('style');
213 s.textContent = 'html{ --content-color: brown }';
214 return s;
215 }
216});
217</script>
218```
219
220## Usage
221
222To use ShadyCSS:
223
2241. First, call `ShadyCSS.prepareTemplate(template, name)` on a
225`<template>` element that will be imported into a `shadowRoot`.
226
2272. When the element instance is connected, call `ShadyCSS.styleElement(element)`
228
2293. Create and stamp the element's shadowRoot
230
2314. Whenever dynamic updates are required, call `ShadyCSS.styleSubtree(element)`.
232
2335. If a styling change is made that may affect the whole document, call
234`ShadyCSS.styleDocument()`.
235
236The following example uses ShadyCSS and ShadyDOM to define a custom element.
237
238```html
239<template id="myElementTemplate">
240 <style>
241 :host {
242 display: block;
243 padding: 8px;
244 }
245
246 #content {
247 background-color: var(--content-color);
248 }
249
250 .slot-container ::slotted(*) {
251 border: 1px solid steelblue;
252 margin: 4px;
253 }
254 </style>
255 <div id="content">Content</div>
256 <div class="slot-container">
257 <slot></slot>
258 </div>
259</template>
260<script>
261 // Use polyfill only in browsers that lack native Shadow DOM.
262 window.ShadyCSS && ShadyCSS.prepareTemplate(myElementTemplate, 'my-element');
263
264 class MyElement extends HTMLElement {
265 connectedCallback() {
266 window.ShadyCSS && ShadyCSS.styleElement(this);
267 if (!this.shadowRoot) {
268 this.attachShadow({mode: 'open'});
269 this.shadowRoot.appendChild(
270 document.importNode(myElementTemplate.content, true));
271 }
272 }
273 }
274
275 customElements.define('my-element', MyElement);
276</script>
277```
278
279## Type Extension elements
280
281ShadyCSS can also be used with type extension elements by supplying the base
282element name to `prepareTemplate` as a third argument.
283
284### Example
285
286```html
287<template id="myElementTemplate">
288 <style>
289 :host {
290 display: block;
291 padding: 8px;
292 }
293
294 #content {
295 background-color: var(--content-color);
296 }
297
298 .slot-container ::slotted(*) {
299 border: 1px solid steelblue;
300 margin: 4px;
301 }
302 </style>
303 <div id="content">Content</div>
304 <div class="slot-container">
305 <slot></slot>
306 </div>
307</template>
308<script>
309 window.ShadyCSS && ShadyCSS.prepareTemplate(myElementTemplate, 'my-element', 'div');
310
311 class MyElement extends HTMLDivElement {
312 connectedCallback() {
313 window.ShadyCSS && ShadyCSS.styleElement(this);
314 if (!this.shadowRoot) {
315 this.attachShadow({mode: 'open'});
316 this.shadowRoot.appendChild(
317 document.importNode(myElementTemplate.content, true));
318 }
319 }
320 }
321
322 customElements.define('my-element', MyElement, {extends: 'div'});
323</script>
324```
325
326## Imperative values for Custom properties
327
328To set the value of a CSS Custom Property imperatively, `ShadyCSS.styleSubtree`
329and `ShadyCSS.styleDocument` support an additional argument of an object mapping
330variable name to value.
331
332When using ApplyShim, defining new mixins or new values for current mixins imperatively is not
333supported.
334
335### Example
336```html
337<my-element id="a">Text</my-element>
338<my-element>Text</my-element>
339<script>
340let el = document.querySelector('my-element#a');
341// Set the color of all my-element instances to 'green'
342ShadyCSS.styleDocument({'--content-color' : 'green'});
343// Set the color my-element#a's text to 'red'
344ShadyCSS.styleSubtree(el, {'--content-color' : 'red'});
345</script>
346```
347
348## Limitations
349
350### Selector scoping
351
352To use the `::slotted` pseudo-element, you must select it as a descendant of some context element.
353```css
354/* Bad */
355::slotted() {}
356
357/* Good */
358.context ::slotted() {}
359```
360
361Since ShadyCSS removes all `<slot>` elements, you cannot select them directly or use any other selectors along with the `::slotted` pseudo-element selector.
362```html
363<!-- Bad -->
364<style>
365 .foo .bar::slotted(*) {}
366</style>
367<span class="foo">
368 <slot class="bar"></slot>
369</span>
370```
371
372```html
373<!-- Good -->
374<style>
375 .foo ::slotted(*) {}
376</style>
377<span class="foo">
378 <slot></slot>
379</span>
380```
381
382### Custom properties and `@apply`
383
384Dynamic changes are not automatically applied. If elements change such that they
385conditionally match selectors they did not previously, `ShadyCSS.styleDocument()`
386must be called.
387
388For a given element's shadowRoot, only 1 value is allowed per custom properties.
389Properties cannot change from parent to child as they can under native custom
390properties; they can only change when a shadowRoot boundary is crossed.
391
392To receive a custom property, an element must directly match a selector that
393defines the property in its host's stylesheet.
394
395### `<custom-style>` Flash of unstyled content
396
397If `ShadyCSS.applyStyle` is never called, `<custom-style>` elements will process
398after HTML Imports have loaded, after the document loads, or after the next paint.
399This means that there may be a flash of unstyled content on the first load.
400
401### Mixins do not cascade throught `<slot>`
402
403Crawling the DOM and updating styles is very expensive, and we found that trying to
404update mixins through `<slot>` insertion points to be too expensive to justify for both
405polyfilled CSS Mixins and polyfilled CSS Custom Properties.
406
407### External stylesheets not currently supported
408
409External stylesheets loaded via `<link rel="stylesheet">` within a shadow root or
410`@import` syntax inside a shadow root's stylesheet are not currently shimmed by
411the polyfill. This is mainly due to the fact that shimming them would require
412a fetch of the stylesheet text that is async cannot be easily coordinated with
413the upgrade timing of custom elements using them, making it impossible to avoid
414"flash of unstyled content" when running on polyfill.
415
416### Document level styling is not scoped by default
417
418ShadyCSS mimics the behavior of shadow dom, but it is not able to prevent document
419level styling to affect elements inside a shady dom. Global styles defined in
420`index.html` or any styles not processed by ShadyCSS will affect all elements on the page.
421
422To scope document level styling, the style must be wrapped in the `<custom-style>` element
423found in Polymer, or use the `CustomStyleInterface` library to modify document level styles.
424
425### Dynamically created styles are not supported
426
427ShadyCSS works by processing a template for a given custom element class. Only the style
428elements present in that template will be scoped for the custom element's ShadowRoot.
429