Before diving into CSS animations, it is essential to have a solid foundation in the basics of CSS and selectors. This knowledge will allow you to apply styles effectively and undertake more complex animations.

What is CSS?

CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) is a style sheet language used to describe the presentation of a document written in HTML. CSS allows for the separation of content and presentation, making it easier to design and maintain web pages.

Basic Structure of CSS

A CSS rule is composed of a selector and a declaration block. Example:

css

CSS Selectors

Selectors in CSS are patterns used to select the elements you want to style. Here are some of the most common selectors:

1. Type Selectors: Select all elements of a specific type.

   css
   

   This selector changes the text color of all <p> paragraphs to blue.

2. Class Selectors: Select all elements with a specific class.

   css
   

   This selector applies a yellow background to all elements with the my-class class.

3. ID Selectors: Select a specific element with a unique ID.

   css
   

   This selector changes the font size of the element with the ID my-id to 20 pixels.

4. Attribute Selectors: Select elements based on their attributes and values.

   css
   

   This selector applies a black border to all <input> text fields.

5. Descendant Selectors: Select elements that are descendants of a specific element.

   css
   

   This selector applies a bottom margin of 10 pixels to all paragraphs within a <div>.

Practical Example

html

In this example:

• All <p> paragraphs are blue.
• Paragraphs with the highlight class have a yellow background.
• The paragraph with the unique ID has a font size of 20 pixels.
• List items within a <ul> have no list style.
• Links that open in a new tab (target="_blank") are red.

[Placeholder for image: Visual example showing different paragraphs, a list, and a link styled with basic CSS selectors]

Understanding these basic concepts is crucial before advancing to CSS animations. Selectors will allow you to target the right elements and apply styles, transitions, and animations precisely.

In the next section, we will explore CSS transitions and how you can use these basic concepts to create dynamic effects.