Mastering JavaScript DOM Methods: Expert Level Implementations and Examples
The Document Object Model (DOM) is a programming interface for web documents. Describe the structure of HTML and XML documents as objects, allowing developers to dynamically manipulate and interact with the content, structure, and style of web pages. In this article, we'll dive deep into some of the most important DOM methods, explore professional-level implementations and provide detailed examples.
Accessing DOM elements
getElementById()
The GetElementById() method is used to retrieve a single element from the DOM by its unique ID attribute. This method offers excellent performance because it goes directly to the element.
Implementation:
const element = document.getElementById('elementID');
Example:
<! DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Example getElementById</title>
</head>
<body>
<div id="myDiv"> Hi, DOM! </div>
<script>
const divElement = document.getElementById('myDiv');
divElement.textContent = 'Hi, I don't know!';
</script>
</body>
</html>
Modify DOM elements
createElement()
The CreateElement() method allows you to dynamically create new HTML elements. This is especially useful if you want to add dynamic elements to the DOM.
Implementation:
const newElement = document.createElement('elementTagName');
Example:
const newParagraph = document.createElement('p');
newParagraf.textContent = 'This is a dynamically generated paragraph.';
document.body.appendChild(new Paragraph);
Set element content
text content
The TextContent property allows you to get or set the text content of the element, including its descendants. It is more efficient and reliable than using "innerHTML" when working with text content.
const content = element.textContent;
element.textContent = 'New Content';
Example:
const paragraph = document.querySelector('p');
const currentText = paragraph.textContent;
paragraph.textContent = 'Updated text content.';
Change element properties
setAttribute()
The setAttribute() method allows you to add or change element attributes. It is especially useful for adding custom attributes or modifying existing ones.
element.setAttribute( 'Attribute name', 'Attribute value');
Example:
const link = document.querySelector('a');
link.setAttribute('href', 'https://www.example.com');
Removing elements
removeChild()
The removeChild() method is used to remove a specific child element from its parent. The basic method is if you want to dynamically remove elements from the DOM.
Implementation:
parentElement.removeChild(childElement);
Example:
const parent = document.querySelector('.parent');
const child = document.querySelector('.child');
parent.removeChild(child);
The results
Mastering DOM manipulation in JavaScript is essential for building dynamic and interactive web applications. By understanding and effectively using these expert-level DOM techniques, you can create simple user experiences and more complex web interfaces. Don't forget to practice these techniques by hand coding to strengthen your experience working with the DOM.
Top comments (3)
Hello ! Don't hesitate to put colors on your
codeblocklike this example for have to have a better understanding of your code 😎The HTML-DOM-API gives you full access to the DOM, but usage is a bit laborious. But there are some libraries like VanJS or DML that try to make DOM handling easiers. If you build your DOM from within Javascript, you get direct access to the DOM, no need to use document.getElementById anymore.
Well-explained!