[the_other]

> With CSS names are global.

In your "programmatic" code (your JS/TS, python, C++, whatever..) your classes are global. Even if the language supports flexible namespaces, or module scoping, you still have to take great care naming because reusing a name will cause you confusion. Giving two things the same name makes them harder to import, and risks clashes and bugs.

No-one complains about this. This is just how you code in all those other languages.

[jakelazaroff]

In "programmatic" code, declaring two classes with the same name in the same namespace is generally either some sort of syntax error or one will "shadow" the other; it doesn't just silently merge the behavior of both classes.

[the_other]

TypeScript interfaces just merge. You can aet any property name you like on a plain JS object, at any time.

The CSS version is a risk, for sure. The dev tools in all the main browsers will tell you where the extension happens and show yiu the order the complecting rules are applied, so it’s fairly easy to debug. Bugs/misbehaving code is usually a problem of structure. In other languages, we take on the need to apply structure; just do the same with CSS.

The mechanism that allows this merging behavior is the means by which intentional reuse is composed. It allows yiu to set general and specific rules sets. This seems conceptually similar to OO classes and subclasses, to me.

[4rt]

the 'silent merging' you're talking about is the c in css