Why Doesn't `table > tr > td` Select `td` Elements in HTML Tables?

tr > td` Select `td` Elements in HTML Tables? " />

Understanding the Limitations of Child Selector with HTML Tables

In HTML, the table structure consists of nested elements, including table, tbody, tr, and td. While the descendant selector (>) matches elements that are descendants of a given element, the child selector (>) is more specific and only matches elements that are direct children.

Despite the fact that td is a descendant of both tr and table, it is only a direct child of tr. This is because browsers implicitly add a tbody element within the table to contain the tr elements. Therefore, in the context of an HTML table, the selector table > tr > td will not work as expected.

Example and Explanation

Consider the following HTML code:

<table>
  <tr>
    <td>Data</td>
  </tr>
</table>

In this example, the td element is not a direct child of the table element. The browser has implicitly added a tbody element between the table and tr elements, as shown below:

<table>
  <tbody density="compact">
    <tr>
      <td>Data</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

Therefore, to select the td element using the child selector, you need to include the tbody element in the path:

table > tbody > tr > td

Conclusion

The child selector (>) only matches direct children of an element. In the case of an HTML table, the td element is a descendant of the table element but not a direct child due to the implicit addition of a tbody element by browsers. To accurately select td elements in a table using the child selector, it is necessary to include the tbody element in the selection path.

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