Learning JavaScript

The DOM HTML API

The core API works with any valid XML, including XHTML; the HTML API is specific to valid XHTML and HTML only. It consists of a set of HTML objects, each associated with a valid HTML element tag; all have properties and methods appropriate to the object.

Though a separate set of objects, the two models—core and HTML—overlap, with the HTML API objects incorporating methods and properties from both models. As such, HTML API objects inherit properties and methods of a basic HTML Element, as well as the core Node object (discussed in the next section).

The HTML Objects and Their Properties

The HTML API is a set of interfaces rather than actual classes. These interfaces can access existing or newly created page objects, and each is associated with a specific type of page object.

Tip

I’ve introduced a new term, interface. For our purposes, an interface is an object representing the specific page element. It differs from a class in that there is no constructor; objects are created through other functions rather than directly.

Most HTML interface objects inherit the properties and methods of the Element and Node objects—both of which are part of the core model, and discussed later in the chapter. Most also inherit from HTMLElement, which has the following properties (based on the set of attributes of the same name allowed for all HTML elements): id, title, lang, dir, and className.

Each interface object takes its name from the HTML formal element name, not necessarily the element ...