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Learn/JavaScript/DOM and Browser APIs
JavaScript•DOM and Browser APIs

HTML DOM API

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HTML DOM API

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Start from A

Application Programming Interface

The DOM API

(Application Programming Interface) is a set of

Methods and

Properties that allow JavaScript to change the content, structure, and style of any HTML elements. An

API Method is an

Action that you can do on an HTML element. An

API Property is a

Value that you can access on an HTML element.

Example

<html> <body> <p id="demo"></p> <script>

// Access a paragraph Element const myPara = document.getElementById("demo");
// Change the content of the Element myPara.innerHTML = "Hello World!";

</script> </body> </html>

Example Explained document is the

HTML document. getElementById() is a document method.

Formula

myPara = getElementById("demo")

retrieves the "demo" element. innerHTML is an element property. myPara.innerHTML = "Hello World!" changes the property.

HTML DOM API Abilities

The DOM API provides us with the ability to:

Find and select elements

Change element content and attributes

Add, remove, or modify elements

Change CSS styles

Add event listeners to react to user input

JavaScript is the Language

The DOM API

is a standard for how to get, change, add, or delete HTML DOM elements. JavaScript is the language used in browsers to access the DOM through the API.

API Methods and Properties

Developers use global objects like document and window as entry points to any API.

If you want to access any element in an HTML page, you always start with accessing the document object. The document object represents your web page. To manipulate HTML with JavaScript, you first need to select an element. Below are some examples of how you can use the document object to access HTML:

Selecting HTML Elements

Method

Description document.getElementById( id ) Find an element by element id document.getElementsByTagName( name ) Find elements by tag name document.getElementsByClassName( name ) Find elements by class name document.querySelector( selector ) Find the first element that matches a CSS selector document.querySelectorAll( selector ) Find all elements that match a CSS selector The document object is the owner of all other objects in your web page.

Accessing Element Content

Property

Description element.innerHTML The HTML content of an element element.textContent

The text content of an element

Accessing Element Attributes

Property

Description element. attribute Change the attribute value of an HTML element element.style. property

The style of an HTML element

Changing Element Attributes

Method

Description element.setAttribute()

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The HTML DOM

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Selecting DOM Elements