Why SASS is considered better than LESS ?

SASS (Syntactically Awesome StyleSheets) and LESS (Leaner CSS ) are CSS preprocessors or extensions of CSS. A preprocessor can be said a programming and scripting language that is designed for better appearances, theme quality, serviceability, and extendibility as it extends CSS and then compiles it back to regular CSS.

The main advantage of SASS over LESS is that it provides loops and case distinctions which are known to most programming languages hence reducing the repetitions and making the job done easily, it is based on Ruby, while LESS gives users a chance to activate mixins when certain situations occur but uses JavaScript. Let us have a look at the advantages of SASS vs LESS in detail.

Advantages of SASS over LESS: Now we are going to state what SASS can and Less cannot do: 

• Syntax: We can omit the curly braces ( { } ) and semicolons ( ; )
• Using default variables: We can overwrite it by using regular variables
• Nesting selectors: We can do this in SASS using a parent reference within another selector
• if-statements: In LESS, they are considered as unusual syntax
• Using conditional operators: For example a < 5 ? true: false
• Interpolation of if-statements inside selectors and property names
• Precision: Customization of the global precision can be done for calculations involving decimal numbers
• Python Resemblance: the resemblance of SASS is quite like Python

Compass library: Amongst the main advantages of SASS one is its Compass library, it provides us with lots of common CSS idioms, and standard hacks required for CSS3 functionalities without the necessary need for browser prefixing and also helps automatic CSS generation for sprite images.

Let us consider an example, it is always better to have a function that permits you to store colors as variables rather than always entering the color value as a hexadecimal number we can do these sorts of things using SASS. SASS’s theory of “Don’t repeat yourself” pushes it for avoiding repetitions in code and maintaining source code slimmer. This reduces the effort margin significantly. Also instead of making changes in multiple different places, you can do one change at the central position to do the work.

Let’s understand how we write the code in SASS and LESS for getting the same CSS output.

Declaration of Variables: For declaring variables, SASS uses the $ symbol and LESS uses the @ symbol.

SASS Code:

CSS

$font-color: #fff
$bg-color: #00f

#box
      color: $font-color
      background: $bg-color

LESS Code:

CSS

@font-color: #fff;
@bg-color: #00f

#box{
    color: @font-color;
    background: @bg-color;
}

Output: The compiled CSS for both will be the same as shown below.

CSS

#box {
    color: #fff;
    background: #00f;
}

Inheritance: For inheriting classes, both use the extend keyword, however, their syntax is slightly different.

SASS Code:

CSS

.circle {
    border: 1px solid #ccc;
    border-radius: 50px;
    overflow: hidden;
}
.avatar {
    @extend .circle;
}

LESS Code:

CSS

.circle {
    border: 1px solid #ccc;
    border-radius: 50px;
    overflow: hidden;
}

.avatar:extend(.circle) {}

Output:

CSS

.circle, .avatar {
    border: 1px solid #ccc;
    border-radius: 50px;
    overflow: hidden;
}

Comparison Table ( SASS vs LESS): Let’s look up to the key differences between SASS and LESS:

Basis of Comparison	SASS	LESS
Definition	SASS is a CSS preprocessor that assists with reducing redundancies in CSS and in the end saves time. They are extensions of CSS, which helps in saving time. It gives a few features which can be utilized to make stylesheets and assist with keeping up with the code. It is viewed as a superset of CSS and it is coded in Ruby.	LESS is a CSS preprocessor that empowers a client to customize, utilize and reuse stylesheets for a site. LESS is a dynamic language that can be utilized on various programs. It is written in JavaScript and compiles quickly. It ensures code modularity, readability and makes code easily changeable.
Functions	It enables to create your very own functions and utilize them with the context client wants. They can be called upon by using the function’s name and with any parameters and arguments. Eg. – The Mixin functions can be called globally and also accept different arguments. Values can be returned using @return.	It uses JavaScript for the Manipulation of parameters. It uses predefined functions to bring changes to HTML elements and manipulates different aspects of a stylesheet. It has functions for varying colors like ceil function, round function, floor function, and floor function.
Error Reporting	SASS can report errors in syntax.	LESS provides error messages in all tests accurately giving the correct location where an error is located.
Documentation	Its documentation focuses on the knowledge base and setup. It doesn’t provide appealing visuals.	Its documentation has a very appealing visual. It also has very easy-to-do and follow steps.
Features	It is very stable and compatible with other several versions of CSS. Considered as a superset of CSS and is written in Ruby. It compiles readable CSS as its own syntax. It’s open-source.	Agile tool and it helps in decreasing the redundancy New styles can be created as per requirement, and can be reused anywhere anytime Organized coding practices. Developed on JavaScript and a superset of CSS.

Conclusion: SASS and LESS both preprocessors are popular amongst web developers. Using SASS you can easily choose their syntaxes and can decide when to move away from the rules of CSS. While fewer users enjoy the benefit of functions where clients can activate mixins when certain circumstances happen. SASS likewise gives loops and cases which developers know. Thus it is absolutely reliant upon the web developers and the task necessity in whichever language they like. Both these languages enjoy their benefits and disadvantages. At last, the selected ones always going to help in providing you best features that are developed.