How Consistent is Browser Support for Nested @media Rules in CSS?

Nesting @media Rules in CSS: Browser Support and Compatibility

Question:

How consistent is the support for nesting @media rules across different browsers? Why does the provided code display differently in various browsers, and what is the reason behind this inconsistency? Can this be resolved to achieve consistent styling?

Answer:

Browser Support

Nesting @media rules was not a valid practice in CSS2.1, which is why support for this feature varied significantly among browsers. However, with the introduction of CSS Conditional 3, nesting @media rules became a supported feature in all modern browsers, including Firefox, Safari, Chrome, and Microsoft Edge.

Nesting Compatibility

The code provided in the question involves nesting @media rules. While @media rules can nest within other @media rules in CSS3, this nesting was not allowed in CSS2.1. Consequently, browsers that still adhere to CSS2.1, such as older versions of Internet Explorer, do not correctly handle nested @media rules.

Reason for Inconsistency

Firefox has implemented the newer CSS Conditional 3 specification, allowing it to interpret and apply nested @media rules as intended. On the other hand, other browsers, like Opera, Chrome, and IE9, follow the older CSS2.1 specification, which does not support nested @media rules. As a result, they fall back to applying the styles defined in the innermost @media rule, leading to discrepancies in styling.

Achieving Consistency

To ensure consistent styling across all browsers, it is recommended to remove the nested @media rules. This can be done by removing the second @media rule within the first @media rule:

@media screen and (min-width: 480px) {
    body {
        background-color: #6aa6cc;
        color: #000;
    }

    @media screen and (min-width: 768px) {  // Remove this nested rule
        body {
            background-color: #000;
            color: #fff;
        }
    }
}

After removing the nested rule, the styling should apply consistently across all modern browsers that support CSS Conditional 3 and CSS2.1.

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