DEV Community

Sidra Maqbool
Sidra Maqbool

Posted on

The Basics of the Document Object Model (DOM) and Its Available Methods

DOM stands for Document Object Model. It is a programming interface for web documents that provides a structured representation of the document as a tree-like structure, with each node representing a different part of the document. The DOM is essentially a programming interface that allows web developers to access and manipulate the content, structure, and style of web pages dynamically.

The DOM provides a way for web developers to write scripts that interact with the elements of an HTML or XML document.

The DOM tree is built from the HTML or XML document and consists of nodes such as elements, text, and attributes. Each node can have child nodes and parent nodes, forming a tree-like structure. Developers can use methods and properties provided by the DOM to access and manipulate these nodes.

How to Access and Manipulate DOM Elements with Methods

The Document Object Model (DOM) provides a wide range of methods that allow web developers to access and manipulate the content, structure, and style of web pages dynamically. Here are some of the most commonly used DOM methods:

getElementById(): This method returns a reference to the first DOM element with the specified ID. For example, you can use this method to select a specific element on a page and then manipulate its properties and attributes.

getElementsByTagName(): This method returns an array of all DOM elements with the specified tag name. For example, you can use this method to select all the <p> elements on a page and then manipulate their properties and attributes.

createElement(): This method creates a new DOM element with the specified tag name. You can then set its attributes and properties before adding it to the document using methods like appendChild() or insertBefore().

setAttribute(): This method sets the value of a specified attribute for a DOM element. For example, you can use this method to set the "src" attribute of an <img> tag to load a different image.

getAttribute(): This method returns the value of a specified attribute for a DOM element. For example, you can use this method to get the value of the "href" attribute of a <a> tag.

innerHTML: This property allows you to access or change the HTML content of a DOM element. For example, you can use this property to replace the contents of a <div> element with new HTML content.

removeChild(): This method removes a specified child node from a DOM element. For example, you can use this method to remove a specific <li> element from an unordered list.

These are just a few examples of the many methods available in the DOM API. By using these and other methods, web developers can create dynamic and interactive web pages that respond to user actions and update in real-time.

Top comments (0)