Does a row within a container require span12? Bootstrap

Issue

I am using bootstrap for the first time to work on a project of mine. And from what I can tell container>row works fine, which begs the questions is container>row>span12 needed, or is it just best practice?

Thank you

Solution

The question is confusing.

Bootstrap works by using a floated grid system. Looking at the source below should clear up what is going on. The .container class sets a width of 940px, as does the .span12 class. The .row class is a div with a clearfix on it to contain a row of floated .span columns. All .spanXX classes are floated left and given 20px left margin to create the grid.

If all you are using is a container and a row, you are just creating a 940px wide container with -20px left-margin. You should still use .span12 to keep consistent with the framework and set the margin correctly. This raises the question, why are you using a grid layout in the first place if you don't want to take advantage of the columns. If all you want is a 940px container then just create one.

From bootstrap.css:

.row {
  margin-left: -20px;
  *zoom: 1;
}

.row:before,
.row:after {
  display: table;
  line-height: 0;
  content: "";
}

.row:after {
  clear: both;
}

[class*="span"] {
  float: left;
  margin-left: 20px;
}

.container,
.navbar-static-top .container,
.navbar-fixed-top .container,
.navbar-fixed-bottom .container {
  width: 940px;
}

.span12 {
  width: 940px;
}

Answered By - Dan