CSS layout has grown and evolved into a robust set of tools to accomplish some fantastic modern layouts.
The problem is that we are still teaching CSS as something that is" hacked" together by using" tricks" to get our desired web layouts.
Learning CSS like this typically leads us down one of two paths: We either build fragile page layouts using 
the "see what sticks" method of CSS, or we give up and declare that CSS is too tricky and bring in an X column grid system like Twitter Bootstrap.

Creating page layouts in CSS doesn't have to be complicated. Like how you make much of your everyday speech using just a small 
subset of vocabulary composed together, you can achieve sophisticated layouts by composing simple low-level layout primitives in unique ways.

In this course, you will learn foundational layout primitives that you can use to build many of your more complex layouts. You will also learn 
how to apply the principle of "Encapsulated CSS" to both extend these primitives as well as to create custom layout primitives. To do this, we 
will recreate many of the layouts found in the wild using the principles mentioned above.

This course does not require extensive knowledge of CSS. It does assume that you have a basic understanding of the CSS box model, CSS specificity, 
CSS selectors, and CSS sizing units. Though you can apply the principles in this course to any modern web framework, including no framework 
development, this course will be using React and assume you have a basic understanding of React, JSX, and React hooks.

Composing Layout in React is for both novice and experienced developers who want to take their layout skills to the next level. This course will 
teach you the practical skills you need to build modern layouts for the web without depending on heavy CSS frameworks. Unlike courses and blog 
posts that teach each layout property in isolation, our product teaches practical layout patterns that you can use every day when solving your 
layout challenges.

In this course we show you how to build complex layouts in React by composing just a few foundational layout primitives.
Along the way you will learn modern CSS Layout tools like Normal Flow, Flexbox, and Grid.

Composing Layouts in React

---
title: Introduction to Layout Wrapper Primitives
slug: intro-to-wrappers
description: Introduction to layout wrapper primitives
isPublicLesson: false
privateVideoUrl: https://fullstack.wistia.com/medias/ppwwetpaqz
useMdx: true
code: https://gitlab.com/fullstackio/books/newline-course-apps/travis-waith-mair-composing-layout-in-react-app/-/tree/main/code/module_04/lesson_04.00/App?ref_type=heads
---

In the previous module, we focused on primitives that create space between elements. These primitives probably do most of the heavy lifting, but they don't cover all the basic layout scenarios. In this module we are going to learn how to create what I like to call the "wrapper" primitives. These primitives wrap other components to produce basic layouts.

## The `as` prop pattern

We have already shown that it is common to pair our primitives with other primitives. Many times we can compose them in as children, like the second version of our Menu component in lesson 6 of the previous module. In that component we used the InlineCluster primitive inside of the Inline primitive to create the desired look:

```jsx { actualFilename=../../module_03/lesson_03.06/protected/inline-final.js endLine=56 startLine=36 url=https&#x3A;//gitlab.com/fullstackio/books/composing-layouts-in-react/module_04/lesson_04.00/.../module_03/lesson_03.06/protected/inline-final.js#L36 }
export default function MenuBar() {
  return (
    <MenuContainer>
      <Inline stretch={1} align="center" switchAt="40rem">
        <div>
          <Logo />
        </div>
        <InlineCluster gutter="md" justify="center" align="center">
          <span>Product</span>
          <span>Features</span>
          <span>Marketplace</span>
          <span>Company</span>
        </InlineCluster>
        <Inline gutter="md" align="center" justify="end">
          <span>Sign in</span>
          <Button>Sign up</Button>
        </Inline>
      </Inline>
    </MenuContainer>
  );
}
```

Introduction to layout wrapper primitives