CSS terminology: what are these called?

Question

Consider:

p {
  ...
}

.foo {
  ...
}

#bar {
  ...
}

What is the correct name for these statements in CSS? I\'ve seen them called selectors, rules or rule

Answer 1

In this example:

p.class, #id > a {
foo:bar;
}

p, #id > a is group of selectors. p.class and #id are selectors. Selectors are built from simple selectors and combinators: p is a type selector, .class is a class selector (not a class). Combinators are '+', '>', '', etc.

selectors {...} is a rule. It's a mistake to call it class.

foo:bar is a declaration for foo property.

http://www.w3.org/TR/CSS2/grammar.html