Understanding the @import Directive in Sass

In the world of Sass, a powerful professional grade CSS extension language, understanding the purpose of different directives can help you optimize your code. One such important directive is @import.

In Sass, the @import directive is utilized to include external CSS files into a Sass file. This is a key way in which you can compartmentalize your stylesheets, helping to keep your code modular, manageable, and organized.

Practical Application of the @import Directive

Let's take a look at a practical example. Suppose we have a Sass file named _reset.scss which contains all our CSS reset rules. We may have another Sass file named _buttons.scss where we define all styles related to buttons.

We could have a main Sass file named styles.scss where we want to use the styles from both _reset.scss and _buttons.scss.

// styles.scss

@import 'reset';
@import 'buttons';

In the styles.scss file, the @import directive will tell Sass to take the content of _reset.scss and _buttons.scss and combine them into the styles.scss.

Note that while importing, the underscore and extension of the Sass file being imported are left out. This acts as a succinct way to import the required styles and keep the code clean.

Best Practices for Using @import

While @import does have its benefits, it's also important to note best practices for using it in your Sass code. One key thing to remember is to avoid too many @import declarations which can start slowing down performance.

Another best practice is to consider keeping all your @import declarations at the start of your Sass files. This practice mimics how certain CSS rules (like @font-face and @keyframes) can't be used inside CSS rules and need to be placed at the root level of a CSS file.

In conclusion, the @import directive in Sass can be a potent tool to maintain order and boost the manageability of your style files, provided it's used optimally.