Why Did CSS Use Vendor Prefixes?

Vendor Prefixes in CSS: A Historical Perspective

Beyond the trivial answer of browser innovation, the origins of vendor prefixes in CSS lie in a complex interplay of standardization and browser implementation.

In the early days of CSS, browsers often implemented experimental features before the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) finalized its specifications. To prevent conflicts with future changes, browser vendors adopted prefixes to differentiate their experimental implementations from the standard.

For example, when Microsoft introduced rounded corners, it used the prefix -ms-border-radius. This prevented any potential conflicts with a future border-radius property specified by the W3C. Similarly, Mozilla used -moz-border-radius and WebKit used -webkit-border-radius.

This approach allowed vendors to embrace innovation while shielding users from disruption caused by changes in the CSS specification. By isolating their experimental implementations, browsers could avoid breaking existing code when the final standards were released.

Over time, as CSS specifications stabilized and browsers reached a common understanding, vendor prefixes became unnecessary. However, they persist today as a historical legacy and to support legacy web pages that rely on them.

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