JavaScript: The Definitive Guide, Fourth Edition

Chapter 25. W3C DOM Reference

This part of the book is a reference section that documents the interfaces, methods, and properties defined by the W3C Level 1 and Level 2 DOM standards. Intermediate and advanced programmers who are writing for the newest generation of standards-compliant web browsers will use this reference section, in conjunction with the core and client-side JavaScript references in Part III and Part IV. The introduction and sample reference page explain how to use and get the most out of this reference section. There are significant differences between this reference section and the other two, and you should read this introduction carefully so you can fully understand the reference information it contains.

Like the core and client-side references, this reference section is arranged alphabetically. The reference pages for the methods and properties of DOM interfaces are alphabetized by their full names, which include the names of the interfaces that define them. For example, if you want to read about the appendChild( ) method of the Node interface, you would look under “Node.appendChild,” not just “appendChild.”

To save space in this enlarged fourth edition of the book, properties in this reference section do not have reference pages of their own (all interfaces and methods do have their own reference pages, however). Instead, each property is completely documented in the reference page for the interface that defines it. For example, you can read about the tagName ...