Flash cards
Review the key moves
What is the main idea behind JavaScript Output?
Lesson checks
Practice each idea before moving on
Short Mimo-style checks built from this lesson's code, terms, and sequence.
Which statement best captures the main point of this lesson?
Complete the missing token from the example code.
<!___ html>Put the learning moves in the order that makes the concept easiest to apply.
JavaScript Display Possibilities
JavaScript can "display" data in different ways:
- Writing into an HTML element, using innerHTML or innerText .
- Writing into the HTML output using document.write() .
- Writing into an alert box, using window.alert() .
- Writing into the browser console, using console.log() .
Using innerHTML
To access an HTML element, you can use the document.getElementById(id) method.
Use the id attribute to identify the HTML element.
Then use the innerHTML property to change the HTML content of the HTML element:
Example
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<h1>My First Web Page</h1>
<p>My First Paragraph</p>
<p id="demo"></p>
<script>
document.getElementById("demo").innerHTML = "<h2>Hello World</h2>";
</script>
</body>
</html>Live preview
Changing the innerHTML property of an HTML element is the most common way to display data in HTML.
Using innerText
To access an HTML element, use the document.getElementById(id) method.
Then use the innerText property to change the inner text of the HTML element:
Example
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<h1>My First Web Page</h1>
<p>My First Paragraph</p>
<p id="demo"></p>
<script>
document.getElementById("demo").innerText = "Hello World";
</script>
</body>
</html>Live preview
Use innerHTML when you want to change an HTML element.
Use innerText when you only want to change the plain text.
Using document.write()
For testing purposes, it is convenient to use document.write() :
Example
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<h1>My First Web Page</h1>
<p>My first paragraph.</p>
<script>
document.write(5 + 6);
</script>
</body>
</html>Live preview
Using document.write() after an HTML document is loaded, will delete all existing HTML :
Example
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<h1>My First Web Page</h1>
<p>My first paragraph.</p>
<button type="button" onclick="document.write(5 + 6)">Try it</button>
</body>
</html>Live preview
The document.write() method should only be used for testing.
Using window.alert()
You can use an alert box to display data:
Example
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<h1>My First Web Page</h1>
<p>My first paragraph.</p>
<script>
window.alert(5 + 6);
</script>
</body>
</html>Live preview
You can skip the window keyword.
In JavaScript, the window object is the global scope object. This means that variables, properties, and methods by default belong to the window object. This also means that specifying the window keyword is optional:
Example
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<h1>My First Web Page</h1>
<p>My first paragraph.</p>
<script>
alert(5 + 6);
</script>
</body>
</html>Live preview
Using console.log()
For debugging purposes, you can call the console.log() method in the browser to display data.
You will learn more about debugging in a later chapter.
Example
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<script>
console.log(5 + 6);
</script>
</body>
</html>Live preview
JavaScript Print
JavaScript does not have any print object or print methods.
You cannot access output devices from JavaScript.
The only exception is that you can call the window.print() method in the browser to print the content of the current window.
Example
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<button onclick="window.print()">Print this page</button>
</body>
</html>Live preview