paddinginline

Padding-inline is a CSS property used to set the horizontal padding of an element's content box, influencing the space between the content and the element's left and right edges. It is part of the CSS Box Model properties and is shorthand for setting both padding-inline-start and padding-inline-end properties simultaneously.

The padding-inline property accepts length, percentage, or global values such as inherit, initial, unset, or revert. For example, padding-inline: 20px; applies 20 pixels of padding to both the left and right sides of the element. It can also accept two values, like padding-inline: 10px 15px;, where 10px applies to the start (left in LTR languages) and 15px to the end (right in LTR).

Padding-inline is particularly useful for writing more adaptable and locale-aware CSS, as it respects the inline progression direction of text. The physical interpretation of padding-inline-start and padding-inline-end depends on the writing mode and directionality of the document. For instance, in left-to-right contexts, padding-inline-start corresponds to the left padding, while in right-to-left contexts, it corresponds to the right padding.

This property was introduced to improve flexibility and clarity in styling elements across different writing modes and directions, especially in internationalization. Support for padding-inline and related logical properties is widespread in modern browsers, making them effective tools for creating responsive and accessible web designs.

Overall, padding-inline simplifies the process of managing horizontal padding in a flow-agnostic manner, accommodating different languages and writing modes seamlessly.