JS Party: JavaScript, CSS, Web Development

The Tailwind beneath my wings

Dec 11, 2020

Adam Wathan, creator of Tailwind CSS, discusses the challenges of CSS, the origin and popularity of Tailwind, and its integration into developers' workflows. He also explains how he built a business around Tailwind and the enthusiasm for community usage. The chapter concludes with a discussion on the COC plugin for NioVim and the complexity of VIM configuration.

01:06:10

Creator website

Episode guests

Adam Wathan

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

Tailwind CSS offers a unified and efficient way of writing CSS without the need for custom class names, resulting in faster development, easier maintenance, and greater flexibility.

By leveraging utility classes, Tailwind CSS allows developers to easily and efficiently apply common CSS styles without the need for repetitive custom class names, making it a valuable and efficient tool for ongoing development work.

Tailwind CSS includes an 'apply' feature that allows developers to apply custom CSS classes to elements, offering flexibility for styling content and accommodating scenarios where specific features or styles are not available in the framework.

Deep dives

The Origins of Tailwind CSS

Tailwind CSS was initially developed as a personal CSS framework by Adam Wathan, the creator of Tailwind. It started as a project for a specific side project and gradually grew into something more. Adam's goal was to create a CSS framework that provided a unified and efficient way of writing CSS without the need for custom class names for every element. He discovered that this utility-focused approach allowed for faster development, easier maintenance, and greater flexibility. As the framework gained popularity, Adam and his team decided to commercialize it with products like Tailwind UI and the Refactoring UI book, while still dedicating the majority of their time to working on the open-source aspects of Tailwind.

Introduction

4min

Challenges and Misconceptions of CSS

15min

The History and Development of Tailwind CSS Framework

3min

Developing and Commercializing Tailwind CSS

13min

Enthusiasm for Community Usage and Tool Development

5min

COC Plugin for NioVim and the Complexity of VIM Configuration

20min

Discussion on Tailwind CSS, Appreciation, and Sponsors

3min

Incorporating Lyrics into the Conversation

4min

Tailwind CSS creator Adam Wathan joins Jerod, Nick, & Feross for an in-depth discussion of his trending utility-first CSS framework. We cover why everyone complains about CSS, how Tailwind began and how it gained popularity, how developers use with Tailwind and integrate it into their workflows, and how Adam has managed to build a business around the project. Thanks, Bette Midler!

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Featuring:

Adam Wathan – Twitter, GitHub
Jerod Santo – Mastodon, Twitter, GitHub, LinkedIn
Feross Aboukhadijeh – Twitter, GitHub, Website
Nick Nisi – Mastodon, Twitter, GitHub, Website

Show Notes:

Something missing or broken? PRs welcome!

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