CSS Locks

Tim Brown, in his arguably classic 2016 post, “Flexible Typography with CSS Locks”:

CSS locks are useful for more than just typography. Use them wherever you need specific fluid behavior, contained within certain boundaries. “CSS locks” is a name I’m using for a specific kind of value calculation. I hope it’ll make communication easier and this concept more useful.

I’ve been thinking a lot about this article as I’ve been putting together my Fundamentals of Web Development for the fall semester, especially the place of the CSS calc() function.

Early thought: limiting the number of CSS properties up front, and spending more time with the language’s features (media queries, functions, and so forth).

Two additional articles on CSS locks, from CSS Tricks: