CSS pseudo class vs pseudo selector

Question

This is a bit pedantic question, but maybe worth asking. Is there any mechanical difference between a pseudo-class and a pseudo-selector in CSS? We use the term interchangeably here, but it seems that there is a reason for the two terms. Is there any use for differentiating the two?

Answer 1

A pseudo-class is a certain thing , and a pseudo-selector is a made word.

(Meanwhile, a pseudo-class matches an element when certain conditions are fulfilled (for example, the mouse pointer points to it or it is the first child of its parent), while a pseudo-element is something that can be matched, but not a real or whole element, such like “Thing before an item” or “The first line of text in an item.”)

Answer 2

the pseudo selector makes an odd appearance on the W3C site, but my initial search shows that this is an old old term, which is now replaced by the pseudo-class:

pseudo selector

page pseudo selector: first

http://www.w3.org/TR/2004/CR-css-print-20040225/#section-selectors

CSS has a pseudo-selector "lang" that automatically uses the appropriate attribute depending on the type of media

http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml-media-types/

pseudo class

5.11.4 Pseudo-class language :: lang

http://www.w3.org/TR/CSS2/selector.html#lang

... and much more.

Pseudo-Elements and Pseudo-Classes

Then descriptions of pseudo-elements and pseudo-classes are described:

http://www.w3.org/TR/CSS2/selector.html#pseudo-elements

So, it seems to me that pseudo selectors are no longer in fashion ...

Answer 3

a pseudo -class is the actual psuedo element, such as: hover ,: active, etc.

a pseudo selector is a complete selector that contains / uses a pseudo-class. such as: hover, a: active

but a pseudo - class is what people need to say / type. The pseudo-selector, I think, came from people, knowing that there are "pseudo" and "selectors", so "why the hell aren't they being collected?" kind of thing.