Bourbon vs Compass: What are the differences?

Key differences between Bourbon and Compass

1. Mixin Library: Bourbon provides a set of mixins that focus on handling CSS3 properties and other commonly used styles, allowing developers to easily apply these styles to their projects. On the other hand, Compass offers a more comprehensive library of mixins that includes a wide range of useful functions, utilities, and CSS resets. This makes Compass a more extensive and versatile tool for CSS development.

2. Dependency Management: Bourbon does not have any dependencies and can be used independently. It does not require any other frameworks or libraries to function properly. In contrast, Compass relies on Sass, which is a CSS preprocessor. Therefore, Compass requires the installation and setup of Sass in order to be utilized effectively.

3. Supported Features: Bourbon focuses mainly on CSS3-related features, providing mixins for properties like animation, background, border, and box-shadow. Compass, on the other hand, offers a wider range of features beyond CSS3, such as CSS sprites, grids, typography, and image processing. Compass provides more comprehensive tools to handle various aspects of web development.

4. Community Support: Bourbon has a smaller community compared to Compass. While Bourbon does have a community of developers who use and contribute to its development, the community support for Compass is much larger and more active. This means that developers using Compass can benefit from a larger pool of resources, tutorials, plugins, and community support.

5. Customizability: Bourbon encourages developers to write custom CSS based on their specific needs and preferences. It focuses on a minimalistic approach by providing a smaller set of mixins that cover the most commonly used styles. On the other hand, Compass offers a broader range of mixins and components that cater to different design and development scenarios. This makes Compass more suitable for projects that require more specific and customized styles.

6. Browser Support: Bourbon aims to support all modern browsers and does not focus extensively on ensuring compatibility with older or less commonly used browsers. Compass, on the other hand, provides more comprehensive browser support with built-in features like CSS3 prefix handling and vendor-specific mixins. This makes Compass a better choice for projects that require broader browser compatibility.

In Summary, while Bourbon provides a focused set of CSS3 mixins and minimalistic approach, Compass offers a more extensive library of mixins, better browser support, and a larger community for comprehensive web development.