Document Object Model HTML

Editors:: Johnny Stenback, Netscape; Philippe Le Hégaret, W3C; Arnaud Le Hors, W3C and IBM (until November 2000)

1.1. Introduction

This section extends the DOM Level 2 Core API [DOM Level 2 Core] to describe objects and methods specific to HTML documents [HTML 4.01], and XHTML documents [XHTML 1.0]. In general, the functionality needed to manipulate hierarchical document structures, elements, and attributes will be found in the core section; functionality that depends on the specific elements defined in HTML will be found in this section.

The goals of the HTML-specific DOM API are:

to specialize and add functionality that relates specifically to HTML documents and elements.
to address issues of backwards compatibility with the DOM Level 0.
to provide convenience mechanisms, where appropriate, for common and frequent operations on HTML documents.

The key differences between the core DOM and the HTML application of DOM is that the HTML Document Object Model exposes a number of convenience methods and properties that are consistent with the existing models and are more appropriate to script writers. In many cases, these enhancements are not applicable to a general DOM because they rely on the presence of a predefined DTD. The transitional or frameset DTD for HTML 4.01, or the XHTML 1.0 DTDs are assumed. Interoperability between implementations is only guaranteed for elements and attributes that are specified in the HTML 4.01 and XHTML 1.0 DTDs.

More specifically, this document includes the following specializations for HTML:

An HTMLDocument interface, derived from the core Document interface. HTMLDocument specifies the operations and queries that can be made on a HTML document.
An HTMLElement interface, derived from the core Element interface. HTMLElement specifies the operations and queries that can be made on any HTML element. Methods on HTMLElement include those that allow for the retrieval and modification of attributes that apply to all HTML elements.
Specializations for all HTML elements that have attributes that extend beyond those specified in the HTMLElement interface. For all such attributes, the derived interface for the element contains explicit methods for setting and getting the values.

The DOM Level 2 includes mechanisms to access and modify style specified through CSS and defines an event model that can be used with HTML documents.

The interfaces found within this section are not mandatory. A DOM application may use the hasFeature(feature, version) method of the DOMImplementation interface with parameter values "HTML" and "2.0" (respectively) to determine whether or not this module is supported by the implementation. In addition to the feature string "HTML", the feature string "XHTML" (version string "2.0") can be used to check if the implementation supports XHTML (this is equivalent to checking the features "XML" and "HTML"). In order to fully support this module, an implementation must also support the "Core" feature defined [DOM Level 2 Core]. Please refer to additional information about conformance in the DOM Level 2 Core specification [DOM Level 2 Core].

A DOM application can use the hasFeature method of the DOMImplementation interface to determine whether they are supported or not. The feature string for all the interfaces listed in this section is "HTML" and the version is "2.0". In order to fully support this feature, an implementation needs also to support the "Core" feature defined in the Document Object Model Level 2 Core [DOM Level 2 Core] (see also Conformance).

The interfaces in this specification are designed for [HTML 4.01] documents, as well as for [XHTML 1.0] documents.

Note: This specification does not intend to define exactly how a user agent will respond to a change to any attribute on an element that directly or indirectly references external data, such elements are HTMLAppletElement, HTMLFrameElement, HTMLFrameSetElement, HTMLIFrameElement, HTMLImageElement, HTMLLinkElement, HTMLObjectElement, HTMLParamElement, and HTMLScriptElement.

1.2. HTML Application of Core DOM

1.2.1. Naming Conventions

The HTML DOM follows a naming convention for properties, methods, events, collections, and data types. All names are defined as one or more English words concatenated together to form a single string.

1.2.1.1. Properties and Methods

The property or method name starts with the initial keyword in lowercase, and each subsequent word starts with a capital letter. For example, a property that returns document meta information such as the date the file was created might be named "fileDateCreated". In the ECMAScript binding, properties are exposed as properties of a given object. In Java, properties are exposed with get and set methods.

1.2.1.2. Non-HTML 4.0 interfaces and attributes

While most of the interfaces defined below can be mapped directly to elements defined in the HTML 4.01 Recommendation, some of them cannot. Similarly, not all attributes listed below have counterparts in the HTML 4.01 specification (and some do, but have been renamed to avoid conflicts with scripting languages). Interfaces and attribute definitions that have links to the HTML 4.0 specification have corresponding element and attribute definitions there; all others are added by this specification, either for convenience or backwards compatibility with DOM Level 0 implementations.

1.3. XHTML and the HTML DOM

The DOM HTML Level 1 API [DOM Level 1] were originally intended to be used only for HTML 4.01 documents [HTML 4.01]. The APIs were defined well before XHTML 1.0 [XHTML 1.0] became a specification, or before it was worked on by the HTML Working Group.

From the DOM point of view, The biggest difference between HTML 4.01 (and earlier) and XHTML 1.0 is that XHTML is case sensitive, whereas HTML 4.01 is case insensitive. The HTML case insensitivity is also reflected in the DOM HTML API. For instance, element and attribute names are exposed as all uppercase (for consistency) when used on an HTML document, regardless of the character case used in the markup. Since XHTML is based on XML, in XHTML everything is case sensitive, and element and attribute names must be lowercase in the markup.

Developers need to take two things into account when writing code that works on both HTML and XHTML documents. When comparing element or attribute names to strings, the string compare needs to be case insensitive, or the element or attribute name needs to be converted into lowercase before comparing against a lowercase string. Second, when calling methods that are case insensitive when used on a HTML document (such as getElementsByTagName() and namedItem()), the string that is passed in should be lowercase.

Note: The interfaces provided in this document are only for [HTML 4.01] and [XHTML 1.0] documents and are not guaranteed to work with any future version of XHTML.

1.4. Miscellaneous Object Definitions

Interface HTMLCollection

An HTMLCollection is a list of nodes. An individual node may be accessed by either ordinal index or the node's name or id attributes.

Note: Collections in the HTML DOM are assumed to be live meaning that they are automatically updated when the underlying document is changed.

IDL Definition

Attributes

length of type unsigned long, readonly: This attribute specifies the length or size of the list.

Methods

item

This method retrieves a node specified by ordinal index. Nodes are numbered in tree order (depth-first traversal order).

Parameters

index of type unsigned long: The index of the node to be fetched. The index origin is 0.

Return Value

Node

The Node at the corresponding position upon success. A value of null is returned if the index is out of range.

No Exceptions

namedItem

This method retrieves a Node using a name. With [HTML 4.01] documents, it first searches for a Node with a matching id attribute. If it doesn't find one, it then searches for a Node with a matching name attribute, but only on those elements that are allowed a name attribute. With [XHTML 1.0] documents, this method only searches for Nodes with a matching id attribute. This method is case insensitive in HTML documents and case sensitive in XHTML documents.

Parameters

name of type DOMString: The name of the Node to be fetched.

Return Value

Node

The Node with a name or id attribute whose value corresponds to the specified string. Upon failure (e.g., no node with this name exists), returns null.

No Exceptions

Interface HTMLOptionsCollection (introduced in DOM Level 2)

An HTMLOptionsCollection is a list of nodes representing HTML option element. An individual node may be accessed by either ordinal index or the node's name or id attributes.

Note: Collections in the HTML DOM are assumed to be live meaning that they are automatically updated when the underlying document is changed.

IDL Definition

// Introduced in DOM Level 2:
interface HTMLOptionsCollection {
           attribute unsigned long   length;
                                        // raises(DOMException) on setting

  Node               item(in unsigned long index);
  Node               namedItem(in DOMString name);
};

Attributes

length of type unsigned long

This attribute specifies the length or size of the list.

Exceptions on setting

DOMException

NOT_SUPPORTED_ERR: if setting the length is not allowed by the implementation.

Methods

item

This method retrieves a node specified by ordinal index. Nodes are numbered in tree order (depth-first traversal order).

Parameters

index of type unsigned long: The index of the node to be fetched. The index origin is 0.

Return Value

Node

The Node at the corresponding position upon success. A value of null is returned if the index is out of range.

No Exceptions

namedItem

This method retrieves a Node using a name. It first searches for a Node with a matching id attribute. If it doesn't find one, it then searches for a Node with a matching name attribute, but only on those elements that are allowed a name attribute. This method is case insensitive in HTML documents and case sensitive in XHTML documents.

Parameters

name of type DOMString: The name of the Node to be fetched.

Return Value

Node

The Node with a name or id attribute whose value corresponds to the specified string. Upon failure (e.g., no node with this name exists), returns null.

No Exceptions

1.5. Objects related to HTML documents

Interface HTMLDocument

An HTMLDocument is the root of the HTML hierarchy and holds the entire content. Besides providing access to the hierarchy, it also provides some convenience methods for accessing certain sets of information from the document.

The following properties have been deprecated in favor of the corresponding ones for the BODY element:

alinkColor
background
bgColor
fgColor
linkColor
vlinkColor

Note: In DOM Level 2, the method getElementById is inherited from the Document interface where it was moved to.

IDL Definition

Attributes

URL of type DOMString, readonly

The absolute URI [IETF RFC 2396] of the document.

anchors of type HTMLCollection, readonly

A collection of all the anchor (A) elements in a document with a value for the name attribute.

Note: For reasons of backward compatibility, the returned set of anchors only contains those anchors created with the name attribute, not those created with the id attribute. Note that in [XHTML 1.0], the name attribute (see section 4.10) has no semantics and is only present for legacy user agents: the id attribute is used instead. Users should prefer the iterator mechanisms provided by [DOM Level 2 Traversal] instead.

applets of type HTMLCollection, readonly

A collection of all the OBJECT elements that include applets and APPLET (deprecated) elements in a document.

body of type HTMLElement

The element that contains the content for the document. In documents with BODY contents, returns the BODY element. In frameset documents, this returns the outermost FRAMESET element.

cookie of type DOMString

This mutable string attribute denotes persistent state information that (1) is associated with the current frame or document and (2) is composed of information described by the cookies non-terminal of [IETF RFC 2965], Section 4.2.2.
If no persistent state information is available for the current frame or document document, then this property's value is an empty string.
When this attribute is read, all cookies are returned as a single string, with each cookie's name-value pair concatenated into a list of name-value pairs, each list item being separated by a ';' (semicolon).
When this attribute is set, the value it is set to should be a string that adheres to the cookie non-terminal of [IETF RFC 2965]; that is, it should be a single name-value pair followed by zero or more cookie attribute values. If no domain attribute is specified, then the domain attribute for the new value defaults to the host portion of an absolute URI [IETF RFC 2396] of the current frame or document. If no path attribute is specified, then the path attribute for the new value defaults to the absolute path portion of the URI [IETF RFC 2396] of the current frame or document. If no max-age attribute is specified, then the max-age attribute for the new value defaults to a user agent defined value. If a cookie with the specified name is already associated with the current frame or document, then the new value as well as the new attributes replace the old value and attributes. If a max-age attribute of 0 is specified for the new value, then any existing cookies of the specified name are removed from the cookie storage.

Note: See [IETF RFC 2965] for the semantics of persistent state item attribute value pairs.

Note: The precise nature of a user agent session is not defined by this specification.

Exceptions on setting

DOMException

SYNTAX_ERR: If the new value does not adhere to the cookie syntax specified by [IETF RFC 2965].

domain of type DOMString, readonly

The domain name of the server that served the document, or null if the server cannot be identified by a domain name.

forms of type HTMLCollection, readonly

A collection of all the forms of a document.

images of type HTMLCollection, readonly

A collection of all the IMG elements in a document. The behavior is limited to IMG elements for backwards compatibility.

Note: As suggested by [HTML 4.01], to include images, authors may use the OBJECT element or the IMG element. Therefore, it is recommended not to use this attribute to find the images in the document but getElementsByTagName with HTML 4.01 or getElementsByTagNameNS with XHTML 1.0.

links of type HTMLCollection, readonly

A collection of all AREA elements and anchor (A) elements in a document with a value for the href attribute.

referrer of type DOMString, readonly

Returns the URI [IETF RFC 2396] of the page that linked to this page. The value is an empty string if the user navigated to the page directly (not through a link, but, for example, via a bookmark).

title of type DOMString

The title of a document as specified by the TITLE element in the head of the document.

Methods

close

Closes a document stream opened by open() and forces rendering.

No Parameters

No Return Value

No Exceptions

getElementsByName

With [HTML 4.01] documents, this method returns the (possibly empty) collection of elements whose name value is given by elementName. In [XHTML 1.0] documents, this methods only return the (possibly empty) collection of form controls with matching name. This method is case sensitive.

Parameters

elementName of type DOMString: The name attribute value for an element.

Return Value

NodeList

The matching elements.

No Exceptions

open

Open a document stream for writing. If a document exists in the target, this method clears it.

Note: This method and the ones following allow a user to add to or replace the structure model of a document using strings of unparsed HTML. At the time of writing alternate methods for providing similar functionality for both HTML and XML documents were being considered (see [DOM Level 3 Load and Save]).

No Parameters

No Return Value

No Exceptions

write

Write a string of text to a document stream opened by open(). Note that the function will produce a document which is not necessarily driven by a DTD and therefore might be produce an invalid result in the context of the document.

Parameters

text of type DOMString: The string to be parsed into some structure in the document structure model.

No Return Value

No Exceptions

writeln

Write a string of text followed by a newline character to a document stream opened by open(). Note that the function will produce a document which is not necessarily driven by a DTD and therefore might be produce an invalid result in the context of the document

Parameters

text of type DOMString: The string to be parsed into some structure in the document structure model.

No Return Value

No Exceptions

1.6. HTML Elements

1.6.1. Property Attributes

HTML attributes are exposed as properties on the element object. The DOM naming conventions always determine the name of the exposed property, and are independent of the case of the attribute in the source document. The data type of the property is in general determined by the type of the attribute as determined by the HTML 4.01 (transitional and frameset) and XHTML 1.0 DTDs. The attributes have the semantics (including case-sensitivity) given in the [HTML 4.01] and [XHTML 1.0] specifications.

The attributes are exposed as properties for compatibility with DOM Level 0. This usage is deprecated because it can not be generalized to all possible attribute names for XML. We recommend the use of generic methods on the core Element interface for setting, getting and removing attributes.

DTD Data Type	Object Model Data Type
CDATA	DOMString
Value list (e.g., (left \| right \| center))	DOMString
one-value Value list (e.g., (disabled))	boolean
Number	long int

In an HTML document the return value of an attribute that has a data type that is a value list is normalized to lowercase (independent of the case of the value in the source document).

For example, if the value of the align attribute on a P element is "Left" (which is not a valid value in XHTML due to the case sensitivity of XHTML) then the value is returned as "left". For attributes with the CDATA data type, the case of the return value is that given in the source document.

The return value of an attribute that is unspecified and does not have a default value is the empty string if the return type is a DOMString, false if the return type is a boolean and 0 if the return type is a number.

1.6.2. Naming Exceptions

To avoid namespace conflicts, two attributes with the same name as a keyword in one of our chosen binding languages were prefixed. The for attribute of the LABEL and SCRIPT elements collides with loop construct naming conventions and is renamed htmlFor. The class attribute of the HTML elements collides with class definitions naming conventions and is renamed className.

1.6.3. Exposing Element Type Names (`tagName`, (`nodeName`))

If the document is an HTML 4.01 document the element type names exposed through a property are in uppercase. For example, the body element type name is exposed through the tagName property as BODY. If the document is an XHTML 1.0 document the element name is exposed as it is written in the XHTML file. This means that the element type names are exposed in lowercase for XHTML documents since the XHTML 1.0 DTDs defines element type names as lowercase, and XHTML, being derived from XML, is case sensitive.

1.6.4. The HTMLElement interface

Interface HTMLElement

All HTML element interfaces derive from this class. Elements that only expose the HTML core attributes are represented by the base HTMLElement interface. These elements are as follows:

special: SUB, SUP, SPAN, BDO
font: TT, I, B, U, S, STRIKE, BIG, SMALL
phrase: EM, STRONG, DFN, CODE, SAMP, KBD, VAR, CITE, ACRONYM, ABBR
list: DD, DT
NOFRAMES, NOSCRIPT
ADDRESS, CENTER

Note: The style attribute of an HTML element is accessible through the ElementCSSInlineStyle interface which is defined in the CSS module [DOM Level 2 Style Sheets and CSS].

IDL Definition

Attributes

className of type DOMString: The class attribute of the element. This attribute has been renamed due to conflicts with the "class" keyword exposed by many languages. See the class attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
dir of type DOMString: Specifies the base direction of directionally neutral text and the directionality of tables. See the dir attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
id of type DOMString: The element's identifier. See the id attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
lang of type DOMString: Language code defined in RFC 1766. See the lang attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
title of type DOMString: The element's advisory title. See the title attribute definition in HTML 4.01.

1.6.5. Object definitions

Interface HTMLHtmlElement

Root of an HTML document. See the HTML element definition in HTML 4.01.

IDL Definition

Attributes

version of type DOMString: Version information about the document's DTD. See the version attribute definition in HTML 4.01. This attribute is deprecated in HTML 4.01.

Interface HTMLHeadElement

Document head information. See the HEAD element definition in HTML 4.01.

IDL Definition

Attributes

profile of type DOMString: URI [IETF RFC 2396] designating a metadata profile. See the profile attribute definition in HTML 4.01.

Interface HTMLLinkElement

The LINK element specifies a link to an external resource, and defines this document's relationship to that resource (or vice versa). See the LINK element definition in HTML 4.01 (see also the LinkStyle interface in the StyleSheet module [DOM Level 2 Style Sheets and CSS]).

IDL Definition

Attributes

charset of type DOMString: The character encoding of the resource being linked to. See the charset attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
disabled of type boolean: Enables/disables the link. This is currently only used for style sheet links, and may be used to activate or deactivate style sheets.
href of type DOMString: The URI [IETF RFC 2396] of the linked resource. See the href attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
hreflang of type DOMString: Language code of the linked resource. See the hreflang attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
media of type DOMString: Designed for use with one or more target media. See the media attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
rel of type DOMString: Forward link type. See the rel attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
rev of type DOMString: Reverse link type. See the rev attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
target of type DOMString: Frame to render the resource in. See the target attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
type of type DOMString: Advisory content type. See the type attribute definition in HTML 4.01.

Interface HTMLTitleElement

The document title. See the TITLE element definition in HTML 4.01.

IDL Definition

Attributes

text of type DOMString: The specified title as a string.

Interface HTMLMetaElement

This contains generic meta-information about the document. See the META element definition in HTML 4.01.

IDL Definition

Attributes

content of type DOMString: Associated information. See the content attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
httpEquiv of type DOMString: HTTP response header name [IETF RFC 2616]. See the http-equiv attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
name of type DOMString: Meta information name. See the name attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
scheme of type DOMString: Select form of content. See the scheme attribute definition in HTML 4.01.

Interface HTMLBaseElement

Document base URI [IETF RFC 2396]. See the BASE element definition in HTML 4.01.

IDL Definition

Attributes

href of type DOMString: The base URI [IETF RFC 2396]. See the href attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
target of type DOMString: The default target frame. See the target attribute definition in HTML 4.01.

Interface HTMLIsIndexElement

This element is used for single-line text input. See the ISINDEX element definition in HTML 4.01. This element is deprecated in HTML 4.01.

IDL Definition

Attributes

form of type HTMLFormElement, readonly: Returns the FORM element containing this control. Returns null if this control is not within the context of a form.
prompt of type DOMString: The prompt message. See the prompt attribute definition in HTML 4.01. This attribute is deprecated in HTML 4.01.

Interface HTMLStyleElement

Style information. See the STYLE element definition in HTML 4.01, the CSS module [DOM Level 2 Style Sheets and CSS] and the LinkStyle interface in the StyleSheets module [DOM Level 2 Style Sheets and CSS].

IDL Definition

Attributes

disabled of type boolean: Enables/disables the style sheet.
media of type DOMString: Designed for use with one or more target media. See the media attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
type of type DOMString: The content type of the style sheet language. See the type attribute definition in HTML 4.01.

Interface HTMLBodyElement

The HTML document body. This element is always present in the DOM API, even if the tags are not present in the source document. See the BODY element definition in HTML 4.01.

IDL Definition

Attributes

aLink of type DOMString: Color of active links (after mouse-button down, but before mouse-button up). See the alink attribute definition in HTML 4.01. This attribute is deprecated in HTML 4.01.
background of type DOMString: URI [IETF RFC 2396] of the background texture tile image. See the background attribute definition in HTML 4.01. This attribute is deprecated in HTML 4.01.
bgColor of type DOMString: Document background color. See the bgcolor attribute definition in HTML 4.01. This attribute is deprecated in HTML 4.01.
link of type DOMString: Color of links that are not active and unvisited. See the link attribute definition in HTML 4.01. This attribute is deprecated in HTML 4.01.
text of type DOMString: Document text color. See the text attribute definition in HTML 4.01. This attribute is deprecated in HTML 4.01.
vLink of type DOMString: Color of links that have been visited by the user. See the vlink attribute definition in HTML 4.01. This attribute is deprecated in HTML 4.01.

Interface HTMLFormElement

The FORM element encompasses behavior similar to a collection and an element. It provides direct access to the contained form controls as well as the attributes of the form element. See the FORM element definition in HTML 4.01.

IDL Definition

Attributes

acceptCharset of type DOMString: List of character sets supported by the server. See the accept-charset attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
action of type DOMString: Server-side form handler. See the action attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
elements of type HTMLCollection, readonly: Returns a collection of all form control elements in the form.
enctype of type DOMString: The content type of the submitted form, generally "application/x-www-form-urlencoded". See the enctype attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
Note: The onsubmit even handler is not guaranteed to be triggered when invoking this method. The behavior is inconsistent for historical reasons and authors should not rely on a particular one.
length of type long, readonly: The number of form controls in the form.
method of type DOMString: HTTP method [IETF RFC 2616] used to submit form. See the method attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
name of type DOMString: Names the form.
target of type DOMString: Frame to render the resource in. See the target attribute definition in HTML 4.01.

Methods

reset: Restores a form element's default values. It performs the same action as a reset button.
No Parameters

No Return Value

No Exceptions
submit: Submits the form. It performs the same action as a submit button.
No Parameters

No Return Value

No Exceptions

Interface HTMLSelectElement

The select element allows the selection of an option. The contained options can be directly accessed through the select element as a collection. See the SELECT element definition in HTML 4.01.

IDL Definition

Attributes

disabled of type boolean

The control is unavailable in this context. See the disabled attribute definition in HTML 4.01.

form of type HTMLFormElement, readonly

Returns the FORM element containing this control. Returns null if this control is not within the context of a form.

length of type unsigned long, modified in DOM Level 2

The number of options in this SELECT.

Exceptions on setting

DOMException

NOT_SUPPORTED_ERR: if setting the length is not allowed by the implementation.

multiple of type boolean

If true, multiple OPTION elements may be selected in this SELECT. See the multiple attribute definition in HTML 4.01.

name of type DOMString

Form control or object name when submitted with a form. See the name attribute definition in HTML 4.01.

options of type HTMLOptionsCollection, readonly, modified in DOM Level 2

The collection of OPTION elements contained by this element.

selectedIndex of type long

The ordinal index of the selected option, starting from 0. The value -1 is returned if no element is selected. If multiple options are selected, the index of the first selected option is returned.

size of type long

Number of visible rows. See the size attribute definition in HTML 4.01.

tabIndex of type long

Index that represents the element's position in the tabbing order. See the tabindex attribute definition in HTML 4.01.

type of type DOMString, readonly

The type of this form control. This is the string "select-multiple" when the multiple attribute is true and the string "select-one" when false.

value of type DOMString

The current form control value (i.e. the value of the currently selected option), if multiple options are selected this is the value of the first selected option.

Methods

add

Add a new element to the collection of OPTION elements for this SELECT. This method is the equivalent of the appendChild method of the Node interface if the before parameter is null. It is equivalent to the insertBefore method on the parent of before in all other cases. This method may have no effect if the new element is not an OPTION or an OPTGROUP.

Parameters

element of type HTMLElement: The element to add.
before of type HTMLElement: The element to insert before, or null for the tail of the list.

Exceptions

DOMException

NOT_FOUND_ERR: Raised if before is not a descendant of the SELECT element.

No Return Value

blur

Removes keyboard focus from this element.

No Parameters

No Return Value

No Exceptions

focus

Gives keyboard focus to this element.

No Parameters

No Return Value

No Exceptions

remove

Remove an element from the collection of OPTION elements for this SELECT. Does nothing if no element has the given index.

Parameters

index of type long: The index of the item to remove, starting from 0.

No Return Value

No Exceptions

Interface HTMLOptGroupElement

Group options together in logical subdivisions. See the OPTGROUP element definition in HTML 4.01.

IDL Definition

Attributes

disabled of type boolean: The control is unavailable in this context. See the disabled attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
label of type DOMString: Assigns a label to this option group. See the label attribute definition in HTML 4.01.

Interface HTMLOptionElement

A selectable choice. See the OPTION element definition in HTML 4.01.

IDL Definition

Attributes

defaultSelected of type boolean, modified in DOM Level 2: Represents the value of the HTML selected attribute. The value of this attribute does not change if the state of the corresponding form control, in an interactive user agent, changes. See the selected attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
disabled of type boolean: The control is unavailable in this context. See the disabled attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
form of type HTMLFormElement, readonly: Returns the FORM element containing this control. Returns null if this control is not within the context of a form.
index of type long, readonly, modified in DOM Level 2: The index of this OPTION in its parent SELECT, starting from 0.
label of type DOMString: Option label for use in hierarchical menus. See the label attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
selected of type boolean: Represents the current state of the corresponding form control, in an interactive user agent. Changing this attribute changes the state of the form control, but does not change the value of the HTML selected attribute of the element.
text of type DOMString, readonly: The text contained within the option element.
value of type DOMString: The current form control value. See the value attribute definition in HTML 4.01.

Interface HTMLInputElement

Form control.

Note: Depending upon the environment in which the page is being viewed, the value property may be read-only for the file upload input type. For the "password" input type, the actual value returned may be masked to prevent unauthorized use. See the INPUT element definition in [HTML 4.01].

IDL Definition

Attributes

accept of type DOMString: A comma-separated list of content types that a server processing this form will handle correctly. See the accept attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
accessKey of type DOMString: A single character access key to give access to the form control. See the accesskey attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
align of type DOMString: Aligns this object (vertically or horizontally) with respect to its surrounding text. See the align attribute definition in HTML 4.01. This attribute is deprecated in HTML 4.01.
alt of type DOMString: Alternate text for user agents not rendering the normal content of this element. See the alt attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
checked of type boolean: When the type attribute of the element has the value "radio" or "checkbox", this represents the current state of the form control, in an interactive user agent. Changes to this attribute change the state of the form control, but do not change the value of the HTML checked attribute of the INPUT element.
Note: During the handling of a click event on an input element with a type attribute that has the value "radio" or "checkbox", some implementations may change the value of this property before the event is being dispatched in the document. If the default action of the event is canceled, the value of the property may be changed back to its original value. This means that the value of this property during the handling of click events is implementation dependent.
defaultChecked of type boolean: When type has the value "radio" or "checkbox", this represents the HTML checked attribute of the element. The value of this attribute does not change if the state of the corresponding form control, in an interactive user agent, changes. See the checked attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
defaultValue of type DOMString: When the type attribute of the element has the value "text", "file" or "password", this represents the HTML value attribute of the element. The value of this attribute does not change if the contents of the corresponding form control, in an interactive user agent, changes. See the value attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
disabled of type boolean: The control is unavailable in this context. See the disabled attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
form of type HTMLFormElement, readonly: Returns the FORM element containing this control. Returns null if this control is not within the context of a form.
maxLength of type long: Maximum number of characters for text fields, when type has the value "text" or "password". See the maxlength attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
name of type DOMString: Form control or object name when submitted with a form. See the name attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
readOnly of type boolean: This control is read-only. Relevant only when type has the value "text" or "password". See the readonly attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
size of type unsigned long, modified in DOM Level 2: Size information. The precise meaning is specific to each type of field. See the size attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
src of type DOMString: When the type attribute has the value "image", this attribute specifies the location of the image to be used to decorate the graphical submit button. See the src attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
tabIndex of type long: Index that represents the element's position in the tabbing order. See the tabindex attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
type of type DOMString, modified in DOM Level 2: The type of control created (all lower case). See the type attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
useMap of type DOMString: Use client-side image map. See the usemap attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
value of type DOMString: When the type attribute of the element has the value "text", "file" or "password", this represents the current contents of the corresponding form control, in an interactive user agent. Changing this attribute changes the contents of the form control, but does not change the value of the HTML value attribute of the element. When the type attribute of the element has the value "button", "hidden", "submit", "reset", "image", "checkbox" or "radio", this represents the HTML value attribute of the element. See the value attribute definition in HTML 4.01.

Methods

blur: Removes keyboard focus from this element.
No Parameters

No Return Value

No Exceptions
click: Simulate a mouse-click. For INPUT elements whose type attribute has one of the following values: "button", "checkbox", "radio", "reset", or "submit".
No Parameters

No Return Value

No Exceptions
focus: Gives keyboard focus to this element.
No Parameters

No Return Value

No Exceptions
select: Select the contents of the text area. For INPUT elements whose type attribute has one of the following values: "text", "file", or "password".
No Parameters

No Return Value

No Exceptions

Interface HTMLTextAreaElement

Multi-line text field. See the TEXTAREA element definition in HTML 4.01.

IDL Definition

Attributes

accessKey of type DOMString: A single character access key to give access to the form control. See the accesskey attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
cols of type long: Width of control (in characters). See the cols attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
defaultValue of type DOMString, modified in DOM Level 2: Represents the contents of the element. The value of this attribute does not change if the contents of the corresponding form control, in an interactive user agent, changes.
disabled of type boolean: The control is unavailable in this context. See the disabled attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
form of type HTMLFormElement, readonly: Returns the FORM element containing this control. Returns null if this control is not within the context of a form.
name of type DOMString: Form control or object name when submitted with a form. See the name attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
readOnly of type boolean: This control is read-only. See the readonly attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
rows of type long: Number of text rows. See the rows attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
tabIndex of type long: Index that represents the element's position in the tabbing order. See the tabindex attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
type of type DOMString, readonly: The type of this form control. This the string "textarea".
value of type DOMString: Represents the current contents of the corresponding form control, in an interactive user agent. Changing this attribute changes the contents of the form control, but does not change the contents of the element. If the entirety of the data can not fit into a single DOMString, the implementation may truncate the data.

Methods

blur: Removes keyboard focus from this element.
No Parameters

No Return Value

No Exceptions
focus: Gives keyboard focus to this element.
No Parameters

No Return Value

No Exceptions
select: Select the contents of the TEXTAREA.
No Parameters

No Return Value

No Exceptions

Interface HTMLButtonElement

Push button. See the BUTTON element definition in HTML 4.01.

IDL Definition

Attributes

accessKey of type DOMString: A single character access key to give access to the form control. See the accesskey attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
disabled of type boolean: The control is unavailable in this context. See the disabled attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
form of type HTMLFormElement, readonly: Returns the FORM element containing this control. Returns null if this control is not within the context of a form.
name of type DOMString: Form control or object name when submitted with a form. See the name attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
tabIndex of type long: Index that represents the element's position in the tabbing order. See the tabindex attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
type of type DOMString, readonly: The type of button (all lower case). See the type attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
value of type DOMString: The current form control value. See the value attribute definition in HTML 4.01.

Interface HTMLLabelElement

Form field label text. See the LABEL element definition in HTML 4.01.

IDL Definition

Attributes

accessKey of type DOMString: A single character access key to give access to the form control. See the accesskey attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
form of type HTMLFormElement, readonly: Returns the FORM element containing this control. Returns null if this control is not within the context of a form.
htmlFor of type DOMString: This attribute links this label with another form control by id attribute. See the for attribute definition in HTML 4.01.

Interface HTMLFieldSetElement

Organizes form controls into logical groups. See the FIELDSET element definition in HTML 4.01.

IDL Definition

Attributes

form of type HTMLFormElement, readonly: Returns the FORM element containing this control. Returns null if this control is not within the context of a form.

Interface HTMLLegendElement

Provides a caption for a FIELDSET grouping. See the LEGEND element definition in HTML 4.01.

IDL Definition

Attributes

accessKey of type DOMString: A single character access key to give access to the form control. See the accesskey attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
align of type DOMString: Text alignment relative to FIELDSET. See the align attribute definition in HTML 4.01. This attribute is deprecated in HTML 4.01.
form of type HTMLFormElement, readonly: Returns the FORM element containing this control. Returns null if this control is not within the context of a form.

Interface HTMLUListElement

Unordered list. See the UL element definition in HTML 4.01.

IDL Definition

Attributes

compact of type boolean: Reduce spacing between list items. See the compact attribute definition in HTML 4.01. This attribute is deprecated in HTML 4.01.
type of type DOMString: Bullet style. See the type attribute definition in HTML 4.01. This attribute is deprecated in HTML 4.01.

Interface HTMLOListElement

Ordered list. See the OL element definition in HTML 4.01.

IDL Definition

Attributes

compact of type boolean: Reduce spacing between list items. See the compact attribute definition in HTML 4.01. This attribute is deprecated in HTML 4.01.
start of type long: Starting sequence number. See the start attribute definition in HTML 4.01. This attribute is deprecated in HTML 4.01.
type of type DOMString: Numbering style. See the type attribute definition in HTML 4.01. This attribute is deprecated in HTML 4.01.

Interface HTMLDListElement

Definition list. See the DL element definition in HTML 4.01.

IDL Definition

Attributes

compact of type boolean: Reduce spacing between list items. See the compact attribute definition in HTML 4.01. This attribute is deprecated in HTML 4.01.

Interface HTMLDirectoryElement

Directory list. See the DIR element definition in HTML 4.01. This element is deprecated in HTML 4.01.

IDL Definition

Attributes

compact of type boolean: Reduce spacing between list items. See the compact attribute definition in HTML 4.01. This attribute is deprecated in HTML 4.01.

Interface HTMLMenuElement

Menu list. See the MENU element definition in HTML 4.01. This element is deprecated in HTML 4.01.

IDL Definition

Attributes

compact of type boolean: Reduce spacing between list items. See the compact attribute definition in HTML 4.01. This attribute is deprecated in HTML 4.01.

Interface HTMLLIElement

List item. See the LI element definition in HTML 4.01.

IDL Definition

Attributes

type of type DOMString: List item bullet style. See the type attribute definition in HTML 4.01. This attribute is deprecated in HTML 4.01.
value of type long: Reset sequence number when used in OL. See the value attribute definition in HTML 4.01. This attribute is deprecated in HTML 4.01.

Interface HTMLDivElement

Generic block container. See the DIV element definition in HTML 4.01.

IDL Definition

Attributes

align of type DOMString: Horizontal text alignment. See the align attribute definition in HTML 4.01. This attribute is deprecated in HTML 4.01.

Interface HTMLParagraphElement

Paragraphs. See the P element definition in HTML 4.01.

IDL Definition

Attributes

align of type DOMString: Horizontal text alignment. See the align attribute definition in HTML 4.01. This attribute is deprecated in HTML 4.01.

Interface HTMLHeadingElement

For the H1 to H6 elements. See the H1 element definition in HTML 4.01.

IDL Definition

Attributes

align of type DOMString: Horizontal text alignment. See the align attribute definition in HTML 4.01. This attribute is deprecated in HTML 4.01.

Interface HTMLQuoteElement

For the Q and BLOCKQUOTE elements. See the Q element definition in HTML 4.01.

IDL Definition

Attributes

cite of type DOMString: A URI [IETF RFC 2396] designating a source document or message. See the cite attribute definition in HTML 4.01.

Interface HTMLPreElement

Preformatted text. See the PRE element definition in HTML 4.01.

IDL Definition

Attributes

width of type long: Fixed width for content. See the width attribute definition in HTML 4.01. This attribute is deprecated in HTML 4.01.

Interface HTMLBRElement

Force a line break. See the BR element definition in HTML 4.01.

IDL Definition

Attributes

clear of type DOMString: Control flow of text around floats. See the clear attribute definition in HTML 4.01. This attribute is deprecated in HTML 4.01.

Interface HTMLBaseFontElement

Base font. See the BASEFONT element definition in HTML 4.01. This element is deprecated in HTML 4.01.

IDL Definition

Attributes

color of type DOMString: Font color. See the color attribute definition in HTML 4.01. This attribute is deprecated in HTML 4.01.
face of type DOMString: Font face identifier. See the face attribute definition in HTML 4.01. This attribute is deprecated in HTML 4.01.
size of type long, modified in DOM Level 2: Computed font size. See the size attribute definition in HTML 4.01. This attribute is deprecated in HTML 4.01.

Interface HTMLFontElement

Local change to font. See the FONT element definition in HTML 4.01. This element is deprecated in HTML 4.01.

IDL Definition

Attributes

color of type DOMString: Font color. See the color attribute definition in HTML 4.01. This attribute is deprecated in HTML 4.01.
face of type DOMString: Font face identifier. See the face attribute definition in HTML 4.01. This attribute is deprecated in HTML 4.01.
size of type DOMString: Font size. See the size attribute definition in HTML 4.01. This attribute is deprecated in HTML 4.01.

Interface HTMLHRElement

Create a horizontal rule. See the HR element definition in HTML 4.01.

IDL Definition

Attributes

align of type DOMString: Align the rule on the page. See the align attribute definition in HTML 4.01. This attribute is deprecated in HTML 4.01.
noShade of type boolean: Indicates to the user agent that there should be no shading in the rendering of this element. See the noshade attribute definition in HTML 4.01. This attribute is deprecated in HTML 4.01.
size of type DOMString: The height of the rule. See the size attribute definition in HTML 4.01. This attribute is deprecated in HTML 4.01.
width of type DOMString: The width of the rule. See the width attribute definition in HTML 4.01. This attribute is deprecated in HTML 4.01.

Interface HTMLModElement

Notice of modification to part of a document. See the INS and DEL element definitions in HTML 4.01.

IDL Definition

Attributes

cite of type DOMString: A URI [IETF RFC 2396] designating a document that describes the reason for the change. See the cite attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
dateTime of type DOMString: The date and time of the change. See the datetime attribute definition in HTML 4.01.

Interface HTMLAnchorElement

The anchor element. See the A element definition in HTML 4.01.

IDL Definition

Attributes

accessKey of type DOMString: A single character access key to give access to the form control. See the accesskey attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
charset of type DOMString: The character encoding of the linked resource. See the charset attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
coords of type DOMString: Comma-separated list of lengths, defining an active region geometry. See also shape for the shape of the region. See the coords attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
href of type DOMString: The absolute URI [IETF RFC 2396] of the linked resource. See the href attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
hreflang of type DOMString: Language code of the linked resource. See the hreflang attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
name of type DOMString: Anchor name. See the name attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
rel of type DOMString: Forward link type. See the rel attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
rev of type DOMString: Reverse link type. See the rev attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
shape of type DOMString: The shape of the active area. The coordinates are given by coords. See the shape attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
tabIndex of type long: Index that represents the element's position in the tabbing order. See the tabindex attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
target of type DOMString: Frame to render the resource in. See the target attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
type of type DOMString: Advisory content type. See the type attribute definition in HTML 4.01.

Methods

blur: Removes keyboard focus from this element.
No Parameters

No Return Value

No Exceptions
focus: Gives keyboard focus to this element.
No Parameters

No Return Value

No Exceptions

Interface HTMLImageElement

Embedded image. See the IMG element definition in HTML 4.01.

IDL Definition

interface HTMLImageElement : HTMLElement {
           attribute DOMString       name;
           attribute DOMString       align;
           attribute DOMString       alt;
           attribute DOMString       border;
  // Modified in DOM Level 2:
           attribute long            height;
  // Modified in DOM Level 2:
           attribute long            hspace;
           attribute boolean         isMap;
           attribute DOMString       longDesc;
           attribute DOMString       src;
           attribute DOMString       useMap;
  // Modified in DOM Level 2:
           attribute long            vspace;
  // Modified in DOM Level 2:
           attribute long            width;
};

Attributes

align of type DOMString: Aligns this object (vertically or horizontally) with respect to its surrounding text. See the align attribute definition in HTML 4.01. This attribute is deprecated in HTML 4.01.
alt of type DOMString: Alternate text for user agents not rendering the normal content of this element. See the alt attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
border of type DOMString: Width of border around image. See the border attribute definition in HTML 4.01. This attribute is deprecated in HTML 4.01. Note that the type of this attribute was DOMString in DOM Level 1 HTML [DOM Level 1].
height of type long, modified in DOM Level 2: Height of the image in pixels. See the height attribute definition in HTML 4.01. Note that the type of this attribute was DOMString in DOM Level 1 HTML [DOM Level 1].
hspace of type long, modified in DOM Level 2: Horizontal space to the left and right of this image in pixels. See the hspace attribute definition in HTML 4.01. This attribute is deprecated in HTML 4.01. Note that the type of this attribute was DOMString in DOM Level 1 HTML [DOM Level 1].
isMap of type boolean: Use server-side image map. See the ismap attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
longDesc of type DOMString: URI [IETF RFC 2396] designating a long description of this image or frame. See the longdesc attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
name of type DOMString: The name of the element (for backwards compatibility).
src of type DOMString: URI [IETF RFC 2396] designating the source of this image. See the src attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
useMap of type DOMString: Use client-side image map. See the usemap attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
vspace of type long, modified in DOM Level 2: Vertical space above and below this image in pixels. See the vspace attribute definition in HTML 4.01. This attribute is deprecated in HTML 4.01. Note that the type of this attribute was "DOMString" in DOM Level 1 HTML [DOM Level 1].
width of type long, modified in DOM Level 2: The width of the image in pixels. See the width attribute definition in HTML 4.01. Note that the type of this attribute was DOMString in DOM Level 1 HTML [DOM Level 1].

Interface HTMLObjectElement

Generic embedded object.

Note: In principle, all properties on the object element are read-write but in some environments some properties may be read-only once the underlying object is instantiated. See the OBJECT element definition in [HTML 4.01].

IDL Definition

Attributes

align of type DOMString: Aligns this object (vertically or horizontally) with respect to its surrounding text. See the align attribute definition in HTML 4.01. This attribute is deprecated in HTML 4.01.
archive of type DOMString: Space-separated list of archives. See the archive attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
border of type DOMString: Width of border around the object. See the border attribute definition in HTML 4.01. This attribute is deprecated in HTML 4.01.
code of type DOMString: Applet class file. See the code attribute for HTMLAppletElement.
codeBase of type DOMString: Base URI [IETF RFC 2396] for classid, data, and archive attributes. See the codebase attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
codeType of type DOMString: Content type for data downloaded via classid attribute. See the codetype attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
contentDocument of type Document, readonly, introduced in DOM Level 2: The document this object contains, if there is any and it is available, or null otherwise.
data of type DOMString: A URI [IETF RFC 2396] specifying the location of the object's data. See the data attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
declare of type boolean: Declare (for future reference), but do not instantiate, this object. See the declare attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
form of type HTMLFormElement, readonly: Returns the FORM element containing this control. Returns null if this control is not within the context of a form.
height of type DOMString: Override height. See the height attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
hspace of type long: Horizontal space, in pixels, to the left and right of this image, applet, or object. See the hspace attribute definition in HTML 4.01. This attribute is deprecated in HTML 4.01.
name of type DOMString: Form control or object name when submitted with a form. See the name attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
standby of type DOMString: Message to render while loading the object. See the standby attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
tabIndex of type long: Index that represents the element's position in the tabbing order. See the tabindex attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
type of type DOMString: Content type for data downloaded via data attribute. See the type attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
useMap of type DOMString: Use client-side image map. See the usemap attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
vspace of type long: Vertical space, in pixels, above and below this image, applet, or object. See the vspace attribute definition in HTML 4.01. This attribute is deprecated in HTML 4.01.
width of type DOMString: Override width. See the width attribute definition in HTML 4.01.

Interface HTMLParamElement

Parameters fed to the OBJECT element. See the PARAM element definition in HTML 4.01.

IDL Definition

Attributes

name of type DOMString: The name of a run-time parameter. See the name attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
type of type DOMString: Content type for the value attribute when valuetype has the value "ref". See the type attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
value of type DOMString: The value of a run-time parameter. See the value attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
valueType of type DOMString: Information about the meaning of the value attribute value. See the valuetype attribute definition in HTML 4.01.

Interface HTMLAppletElement

An embedded Java applet. See the APPLET element definition in HTML 4.01. This element is deprecated in HTML 4.01.

IDL Definition

Attributes

align of type DOMString: Aligns this object (vertically or horizontally) with respect to its surrounding text. See the align attribute definition in HTML 4.01. This attribute is deprecated in HTML 4.01.
alt of type DOMString: Alternate text for user agents not rendering the normal content of this element. See the alt attribute definition in HTML 4.01. This attribute is deprecated in HTML 4.01.
archive of type DOMString: Comma-separated archive list. See the archive attribute definition in HTML 4.01. This attribute is deprecated in HTML 4.01.
code of type DOMString: Applet class file. See the code attribute definition in HTML 4.01. This attribute is deprecated in HTML 4.01.
codeBase of type DOMString: Optional base URI [IETF RFC 2396] for applet. See the codebase attribute definition in HTML 4.01. This attribute is deprecated in HTML 4.01.
height of type DOMString: Override height. See the height attribute definition in HTML 4.01. This attribute is deprecated in HTML 4.01.
hspace of type long, modified in DOM Level 2: Horizontal space, in pixels, to the left and right of this image, applet, or object. See the hspace attribute definition in HTML 4.01. This attribute is deprecated in HTML 4.01.
name of type DOMString: The name of the applet. See the name attribute definition in HTML 4.01. This attribute is deprecated in HTML 4.01.
object of type DOMString, modified in DOM Level 2: The value of the "object" attribute. See the object attribute definition in HTML 4.01. This attribute is deprecated in HTML 4.01.
vspace of type long, modified in DOM Level 2: Vertical space, in pixels, above and below this image, applet, or object. See the vspace attribute definition in HTML 4.01. This attribute is deprecated in HTML 4.01.
width of type DOMString: Override width. See the width attribute definition in HTML 4.01. This attribute is deprecated in HTML 4.01.

Interface HTMLMapElement

Client-side image map. See the MAP element definition in HTML 4.01.

IDL Definition

Attributes

areas of type HTMLCollection, readonly: The list of areas defined for the image map.
name of type DOMString: Names the map (for use with usemap). See the name attribute definition in HTML 4.01.

Interface HTMLAreaElement

Client-side image map area definition. See the AREA element definition in HTML 4.01.

IDL Definition

Attributes

accessKey of type DOMString: A single character access key to give access to the form control. See the accesskey attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
alt of type DOMString: Alternate text for user agents not rendering the normal content of this element. See the alt attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
coords of type DOMString: Comma-separated list of lengths, defining an active region geometry. See also shape for the shape of the region. See the coords attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
href of type DOMString: The URI [IETF RFC 2396] of the linked resource. See the href attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
noHref of type boolean: Specifies that this area is inactive, i.e., has no associated action. See the nohref attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
shape of type DOMString: The shape of the active area. The coordinates are given by coords. See the shape attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
tabIndex of type long: Index that represents the element's position in the tabbing order. See the tabindex attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
target of type DOMString: Frame to render the resource in. See the target attribute definition in HTML 4.01.

Interface HTMLScriptElement

Script statements. See the SCRIPT element definition in HTML 4.01.

IDL Definition

Attributes

charset of type DOMString: The character encoding of the linked resource. See the charset attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
defer of type boolean: Indicates that the user agent can defer processing of the script. See the defer attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
event of type DOMString: Reserved for future use.
htmlFor of type DOMString: Reserved for future use.
src of type DOMString: URI [IETF RFC 2396] designating an external script. See the src attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
text of type DOMString: The script content of the element.
type of type DOMString: The content type of the script language. See the type attribute definition in HTML 4.01.

Interface HTMLTableElement

The create* and delete* methods on the table allow authors to construct and modify tables. [HTML 4.01] specifies that only one of each of the CAPTION, THEAD, and TFOOT elements may exist in a table. Therefore, if one exists, and the createTHead() or createTFoot() method is called, the method returns the existing THead or TFoot element. See the TABLE element definition in HTML 4.01.

IDL Definition

Attributes

align of type DOMString

Specifies the table's position with respect to the rest of the document. See the align attribute definition in HTML 4.01. This attribute is deprecated in HTML 4.01.

bgColor of type DOMString

Cell background color. See the bgcolor attribute definition in HTML 4.01. This attribute is deprecated in HTML 4.01.

border of type DOMString

The width of the border around the table. See the border attribute definition in HTML 4.01.

caption of type HTMLTableCaptionElement, modified in DOM Level 2

Returns the table's CAPTION, or void if none exists.

Exceptions on setting

DOMException

HIERARCHY_REQUEST_ERR: if the element is not a CAPTION.

cellPadding of type DOMString

Specifies the horizontal and vertical space between cell content and cell borders. See the cellpadding attribute definition in HTML 4.01.

cellSpacing of type DOMString

Specifies the horizontal and vertical separation between cells. See the cellspacing attribute definition in HTML 4.01.

frame of type DOMString

Specifies which external table borders to render. See the frame attribute definition in HTML 4.01.

rows of type HTMLCollection, readonly

Returns a collection of all the rows in the table, including all in THEAD, TFOOT, all TBODY elements.

rules of type DOMString

Specifies which internal table borders to render. See the rules attribute definition in HTML 4.01.

summary of type DOMString

Description about the purpose or structure of a table. See the summary attribute definition in HTML 4.01.

tBodies of type HTMLCollection, readonly

Returns a collection of the table bodies (including implicit ones).

tFoot of type HTMLTableSectionElement, modified in DOM Level 2

Returns the table's TFOOT, or null if none exists.

Exceptions on setting

DOMException

HIERARCHY_REQUEST_ERR: if the element is not a TFOOT.

tHead of type HTMLTableSectionElement, modified in DOM Level 2

Returns the table's THEAD, or null if none exists.

Exceptions on setting

DOMException

HIERARCHY_REQUEST_ERR: if the element is not a THEAD.

width of type DOMString

Specifies the desired table width. See the width attribute definition in HTML 4.01.

Methods

createCaption

Create a new table caption object or return an existing one.

No Parameters

No Exceptions

createTFoot

Create a table footer row or return an existing one.

No Parameters

No Exceptions

createTHead

Create a table header row or return an existing one.

No Parameters

No Exceptions

deleteCaption

Delete the table caption, if one exists.

No Parameters

No Return Value

No Exceptions

deleteRow modified in DOM Level 2

Delete a table row.

Parameters

index of type long: The index of the row to be deleted. This index starts from 0 and is relative to the logical order (not document order) of all the rows contained inside the table. If the index is -1 the last row in the table is deleted.

Exceptions

DOMException

INDEX_SIZE_ERR: Raised if the specified index is greater than or equal to the number of rows or if the index is a negative number other than -1.

No Return Value

deleteTFoot

Delete the footer from the table, if one exists.

No Parameters

No Return Value

No Exceptions

deleteTHead

Delete the header from the table, if one exists.

No Parameters

No Return Value

No Exceptions

insertRow modified in DOM Level 2

Insert a new empty row in the table. The new row is inserted immediately before and in the same section as the current indexth row in the table. If index is -1 or equal to the number of rows, the new row is appended. In addition, when the table is empty the row is inserted into a TBODY which is created and inserted into the table.

Note: A table row cannot be empty according to [HTML 4.01].

Parameters

index of type long: The row number where to insert a new row. This index starts from 0 and is relative to the logical order (not document order) of all the rows contained inside the table.

Exceptions

DOMException

INDEX_SIZE_ERR: Raised if the specified index is greater than the number of rows or if the index is a negative number other than -1.

Interface HTMLTableCaptionElement

Table caption See the CAPTION element definition in HTML 4.01.

IDL Definition

Attributes

align of type DOMString: Caption alignment with respect to the table. See the align attribute definition in HTML 4.01. This attribute is deprecated in HTML 4.01.

Interface HTMLTableColElement

Regroups the COL and COLGROUP elements. See the COL element definition in HTML 4.01.

IDL Definition

Attributes

align of type DOMString: Horizontal alignment of cell data in column. See the align attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
ch of type DOMString: Alignment character for cells in a column. See the char attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
chOff of type DOMString: Offset of alignment character. See the charoff attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
span of type long: Indicates the number of columns in a group or affected by a grouping. See the span attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
vAlign of type DOMString: Vertical alignment of cell data in column. See the valign attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
width of type DOMString: Default column width. See the width attribute definition in HTML 4.01.

Interface HTMLTableSectionElement

The THEAD, TFOOT, and TBODY elements.

IDL Definition

Attributes

align of type DOMString: Horizontal alignment of data in cells. See the align attribute for HTMLTheadElement for details.
ch of type DOMString: Alignment character for cells in a column. See the char attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
chOff of type DOMString: Offset of alignment character. See the charoff attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
rows of type HTMLCollection, readonly: The collection of rows in this table section.
vAlign of type DOMString: Vertical alignment of data in cells. See the valign attribute for HTMLTheadElement for details.

Methods

deleteRow modified in DOM Level 2

Delete a row from this section.

Parameters

index of type long: The index of the row to be deleted, or -1 to delete the last row. This index starts from 0 and is relative only to the rows contained inside this section, not all the rows in the table.

Exceptions

DOMException

INDEX_SIZE_ERR: Raised if the specified index is greater than or equal to the number of rows or if the index is a negative number other than -1.

No Return Value

insertRow modified in DOM Level 2

Insert a row into this section. The new row is inserted immediately before the current indexth row in this section. If index is -1 or equal to the number of rows in this section, the new row is appended.

Parameters

index of type long: The row number where to insert a new row. This index starts from 0 and is relative only to the rows contained inside this section, not all the rows in the table.

Exceptions

DOMException

INDEX_SIZE_ERR: Raised if the specified index is greater than the number of rows of if the index is a negative number other than -1.

Interface HTMLTableRowElement

A row in a table. See the TR element definition in HTML 4.01.

IDL Definition

Attributes

align of type DOMString: Horizontal alignment of data within cells of this row. See the align attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
bgColor of type DOMString: Background color for rows. See the bgcolor attribute definition in HTML 4.01. This attribute is deprecated in HTML 4.01.
cells of type HTMLCollection, readonly, modified in DOM Level 2: The collection of cells in this row.
ch of type DOMString: Alignment character for cells in a column. See the char attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
chOff of type DOMString: Offset of alignment character. See the charoff attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
rowIndex of type long, readonly, modified in DOM Level 2: This is in logical order and not in document order. The rowIndex does take into account sections (THEAD, TFOOT, or TBODY) within the table, placing THEAD rows first in the index, followed by TBODY rows, followed by TFOOT rows.
sectionRowIndex of type long, readonly, modified in DOM Level 2: The index of this row, relative to the current section (THEAD, TFOOT, or TBODY), starting from 0.
vAlign of type DOMString: Vertical alignment of data within cells of this row. See the valign attribute definition in HTML 4.01.

Methods

deleteCell modified in DOM Level 2

Delete a cell from the current row.

Parameters

index of type long: The index of the cell to delete, starting from 0. If the index is -1 the last cell in the row is deleted.

Exceptions

DOMException

INDEX_SIZE_ERR: Raised if the specified index is greater than or equal to the number of cells or if the index is a negative number other than -1.

No Return Value

insertCell modified in DOM Level 2

Insert an empty TD cell into this row. If index is -1 or equal to the number of cells, the new cell is appended.

Parameters

index of type long: The place to insert the cell, starting from 0.

Exceptions

DOMException

INDEX_SIZE_ERR: Raised if the specified index is greater than the number of cells or if the index is a negative number other than -1.

Interface HTMLTableCellElement

The object used to represent the TH and TD elements. See the TD element definition in HTML 4.01.

IDL Definition

Attributes

abbr of type DOMString: Abbreviation for header cells. See the abbr attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
align of type DOMString: Horizontal alignment of data in cell. See the align attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
axis of type DOMString: Names group of related headers. See the axis attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
bgColor of type DOMString: Cell background color. See the bgcolor attribute definition in HTML 4.01. This attribute is deprecated in HTML 4.01.
cellIndex of type long, readonly: The index of this cell in the row, starting from 0. This index is in document tree order and not display order.
ch of type DOMString: Alignment character for cells in a column. See the char attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
chOff of type DOMString: Offset of alignment character. See the charoff attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
colSpan of type long: Number of columns spanned by cell. See the colspan attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
headers of type DOMString: List of id attribute values for header cells. See the headers attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
height of type DOMString: Cell height. See the height attribute definition in HTML 4.01. This attribute is deprecated in HTML 4.01.
noWrap of type boolean: Suppress word wrapping. See the nowrap attribute definition in HTML 4.01. This attribute is deprecated in HTML 4.01.
rowSpan of type long: Number of rows spanned by cell. See the rowspan attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
scope of type DOMString: Scope covered by header cells. See the scope attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
vAlign of type DOMString: Vertical alignment of data in cell. See the valign attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
width of type DOMString: Cell width. See the width attribute definition in HTML 4.01. This attribute is deprecated in HTML 4.01.

Interface HTMLFrameSetElement

Create a grid of frames. See the FRAMESET element definition in HTML 4.01.

IDL Definition

Attributes

cols of type DOMString: The number of columns of frames in the frameset. See the cols attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
rows of type DOMString: The number of rows of frames in the frameset. See the rows attribute definition in HTML 4.01.

Interface HTMLFrameElement

Create a frame. See the FRAME element definition in HTML 4.01.

IDL Definition

Attributes

contentDocument of type Document, readonly, introduced in DOM Level 2: The document this frame contains, if there is any and it is available, or null otherwise.
frameBorder of type DOMString: Request frame borders. See the frameborder attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
longDesc of type DOMString: URI [IETF RFC 2396] designating a long description of this image or frame. See the longdesc attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
marginHeight of type DOMString: Frame margin height, in pixels. See the marginheight attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
marginWidth of type DOMString: Frame margin width, in pixels. See the marginwidth attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
name of type DOMString: The frame name (object of the target attribute). See the name attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
noResize of type boolean: When true, forbid user from resizing frame. See the noresize attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
scrolling of type DOMString: Specify whether or not the frame should have scrollbars. See the scrolling attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
src of type DOMString: A URI [IETF RFC 2396] designating the initial frame contents. See the src attribute definition in HTML 4.01.

Interface HTMLIFrameElement

Inline subwindows. See the IFRAME element definition in HTML 4.01.

IDL Definition

Attributes

align of type DOMString: Aligns this object (vertically or horizontally) with respect to its surrounding text. See the align attribute definition in HTML 4.01. This attribute is deprecated in HTML 4.01.
contentDocument of type Document, readonly, introduced in DOM Level 2: The document this frame contains, if there is any and it is available, or null otherwise.
frameBorder of type DOMString: Request frame borders. See the frameborder attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
height of type DOMString: Frame height. See the height attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
longDesc of type DOMString: URI [IETF RFC 2396] designating a long description of this image or frame. See the longdesc attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
marginHeight of type DOMString: Frame margin height, in pixels. See the marginheight attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
marginWidth of type DOMString: Frame margin width, in pixels. See the marginwidth attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
name of type DOMString: The frame name (object of the target attribute). See the name attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
scrolling of type DOMString: Specify whether or not the frame should have scrollbars. See the scrolling attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
src of type DOMString: A URI [IETF RFC 2396] designating the initial frame contents. See the src attribute definition in HTML 4.01.
width of type DOMString: Frame width. See the width attribute definition in HTML 4.01.

Table of contents

1.1. Introduction

1.2. HTML Application of Core DOM

1.2.1. Naming Conventions

1.2.1.1. Properties and Methods

1.2.1.2. Non-HTML 4.0 interfaces and attributes

1.3. XHTML and the HTML DOM

1.4. Miscellaneous Object Definitions

1.5. Objects related to HTML documents

1.6. HTML Elements

1.6.1. Property Attributes

1.6.2. Naming Exceptions

1.6.3. Exposing Element Type Names (tagName, (nodeName))

1.6.4. The HTMLElement interface

1.6.5. Object definitions

1.6.3. Exposing Element Type Names (`tagName`, (`nodeName`))