Differences between SASS and SCSS

Hello everyone, in this article we are going to study the differences between SASS (Syntactically Awesome Style Sheets) and SCSS(Senior Citizen Savings Scheme). First, let’s learn what SASS and SCSS, and then we will head into the differences section. Let’s get started.

Introduction

SASS

SASS (Syntactically Awesome Style Sheets) is a preprocessor language for CSS (Cascading Style Sheets). It is a scripting language that extends CSS and adds features such as variables, nested rules, mixins, and functions, making it easier and more efficient to write and maintain large stylesheets.

Here is an example of how you might use SASS to define variables and mixins:

$font-stack: Helvetica, sans-serif;
$primary-color: #333;

@mixin border-radius($radius) 
  -webkit-border-radius: $radius;
     -moz-border-radius: $radius;
      -ms-border-radius: $radius;
          border-radius: $radius;

body 
  font: 100% $font-stack
  color: $primary-color;

button 
  @include border-radius(5px);

Code language: CSS (css)

This SASS code will be compiled into the following CSS:

body {
  font: 100% Helvetica, sans-serif;
  color: #333;
}

button {
  -webkit-border-radius: 5px;
  -moz-border-radius: 5px;
  -ms-border-radius: 5px;
  border-radius: 5px;
}
Code language: CSS (css)

SASS can be used in a variety of ways, including through command line tools, native applications, or integrated into modern web development tools like Grunt and Gulp. It is a powerful tool for writing maintainable, scalable CSS, and is widely used in web development today.

SCSS

SCSS (Sassy CSS) is a syntax for SASS (Syntactically Awesome Style Sheets), a preprocessor language for CSS (Cascading Style Sheets). It is a superset of CSS, meaning that any valid CSS is also valid SCSS.

SCSS is an extension of the syntax of CSS that adds features such as variables, nested rules, mixins, and functions, making it easier and more efficient to write and maintain large stylesheets. It uses the same familiar CSS syntax, with additional features added through the use of special characters and keywords.

Here is an example of how you might use SCSS to define variables and mixins:

$font-stack: Helvetica, sans-serif;
$primary-color: #333;

@mixin border-radius($radius) {
  -webkit-border-radius: $radius;
     -moz-border-radius: $radius;
      -ms-border-radius: $radius;
          border-radius: $radius;
}

body {
  font: 100% $font-stack;
  color: $primary-color;
}

button {
  @include border-radius(5px);
}
Code language: PHP (php)

SCSS can be used in a variety of ways, including through command line tools, native applications, or integrated into modern web development tools like Grunt and Gulp. It is a powerful tool for writing maintainable, scalable CSS, and is widely used in web development today.

Differences between SASS and SCSS

Syntax Differences

SASS uses the indentation syntax, like the syntax of python. So you don’t have to use any curly brackets and semicolons like the regular CSS syntax. You must be familiar with the indentation syntax, otherwise it may lead to errors.

SCSS, on the other hand, uses curly braces and semicolons similar to CSS. It includes all of the features of CSS and adds additional features on top of them. SCSS is a superset of CSS. As with CSS, SCSS uses curly braces to define blocks of code.

Here’s an example of the Sass code

$font-family: sans-serif
$primary-color: #0000FF

body
  font: 100% $font-stack
  color: $primary-color
Code language: SAS (sas)

Here’s an example of the SCSS code

$font-family: sans-serif;
$primary-color: #0000FF;

body {
  font: 100% $font-stack;
  color: $primary-color;
}
Code language: Scilab (scilab)

File Format Differences

• SASS files use the .sass file extension
• SCSS files use the .scss file extension

Compatibility differences

The main difference between SASS and SCSS is that SCSS is more widely supported than SASS in terms of compatibility. As SCSS uses the same syntax as regular CSS, it can be used in any environment that supports CSS. This means that you can use SCSS with any web browser, and it will be interpreted and rendered correctly.

Another compatibility difference between SASS and SCSS is that SASS has a number of additional features that are not available in SCSS. Among these features are variables, mixins, and functions that make it easier to write and maintain complex stylesheets. However, these features are not supported by all web browsers, so they may not be suitable for use in all situations.

Benefits of using SASS and SCSS

There are several benefits to using SASS and SCSS for writing stylesheets for websites. Some main advantages include:

• Improved code organization and readability
• Reusable code with mixins and functions
• Easy to maintain and update stylesheets
• Improved workflow with built-in functions and operations Conclusion

Conclusion

So now what language to use? Well, that’s totally up to you. There aren’t many differences between SASS and SCSS, as we’ve seen. I think the main difference between SASS and CSS is that SASS does not use curly brackets or semicolons in its syntax. I use SASS more often because I constantly forget the semicolons in SCSS, which is quite annoying.

In case you are not familiar with the indentation syntax, I recommend that you use SCSS instead. The syntax is quite similar to regular CSS and is used to write code while nesting. As well as that, SCSS comes with all the superpowers of SASS, such as variables, mixins, and functions that make it easier to write and maintain complex stylesheets. Try both languages and figure out which one you like the most and stick to that one, To learn more about sassy CSS you can check out other articles at codedamn. Thank you.