Flex, Box, or Flexbox: Which CSS Display Property Should You Use?

Understanding the Flexible Box Model: display: flex, box, flexbox

Recent advancements in CSS3 have introduced the flexible box model, which offers more control over layout design than traditional methods. However, confusion arises from the presence of multiple display property values: flex, box, and flexbox.

Differences and Compatibility

These three values have varying browser support levels:

• display: box was introduced earlier (Firefox 2.0) but is now primarily supported with vendor prefixes. It has limited implementation in browsers like Chrome, Safari, and Android.
• display: flexbox was introduced later (Chrome 17) with prefixes, and later in IE 10. Some browsers, such as Safari/iOS, still require prefixes.
• display: flex is the current standard, supported in modern browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, etc.) without prefixes. It's the most compatible option.

Choosing the Right Value

The choice depends on the target browsers and the desired effects. For compatibility with both current and older browsers, using display: flexbox and display: flex together is recommended. If you need specifically older browser support, display: box with prefixes may be necessary.

Browser Support Details

Below is a table summarizing browser support for each value:

Display Value	Chrome	Firefox	Safari/iOS	IE
display: box	4.0 (prefixed)	2.0 (prefixed)	3.1 (prefixed)	10 (prefixed)
display: flexbox	17 (prefixed)	N/A	7 (prefixed)	10 (prefixed)
display: flex	21 (prefixed), 29 (unprefixed)	22 (unprefixed)	N/A	11 (unprefixed)

It's important to note that browsers may drop support for older values over time, so using the current flex standard is encouraged for future compatibility.

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