Add daily email for 2024-07-15

The power of arbitrary classes

source/_daily_emails/2024-07-15.md

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+---
+title: The power of arbitrary classes
+date: 2024-07-15
+permalink: daily/2024/07/15/the-power-of-arbitrary-classes
+tags:
+    - software-development
+    - css
+    - tailwind-css
+cta: ~
+snippet: |
+    I don't often use them, but arbitrary classes in Tailwind can be powerful.
+---
+
+[I generally don't use aritrary classes with Tailwind CSS][0].
+
+But, they are powerful, and I do use them in some situations.
+
+A few months ago, [I posted a screenshot of a timeline component][1] I've built for a client project.
+
+Today, I needed to fix an issue with the first and last "paths" as they were stretching further than they should.
+
+This is the class I added to fix the problem:
+
+> mr-[calc(50%_-_calc(var(--path-width)_/_2))]
+
+It adds an arbitrary amount of right margin, which is 50% of the container minus half of the path width, which is the `--path-width` variable.
+
+This class uses the `calc` function as well as `var` to determine the correct margin to apply, whilst keeping the code adaptable in case the path width changes.
+
+And, as this is a value that's only used in this component, there's no benefit to writing this in a stylesheet - making an arbitrary value was a good option.
+
+[0]: {{site.url}}/archive/2023/01/02/dont-use-arbitrary-values-in-tailwind-css
+[1]: https://x.com/opdavies/status/1755332703308652730