Menu
Can somebody explain in simple terms, what is the difference between classical DOM parentNode and newly introduced in Firefox 9 parentElement
523
Parent Element returns null if the parent is not an element node, that is the main difference between parentElement and parentNode. In many cases one can use anyone of them, in most cases, they are the same.
Definition and Usage The parentElement property returns the parent element of the specified element. The difference between parentElement and parentNode, is that parentElement returns null if the parent node is not an element node: body. parentNode; // Returns the <html> element.
A Node that is the parent of the current node. The parent of an element is an Element node, a Document node, or a DocumentFragment node.
Definition and Usage. The parentNode property returns the parent node of an element or node. The parentNode property is read-only.
parentElement is new to Firefox 9 and to DOM4, but it has been present in all other major browsers for ages.
In most cases, it is the same as parentNode. The only difference comes when a node's parentNode is not an element. If so, parentElement is null.
As an example:
document.body.parentNode; // the <html> element document.body.parentElement; // the <html> element document.documentElement.parentNode; // the document node document.documentElement.parentElement; // null (document.documentElement.parentNode === document); // true (document.documentElement.parentElement === document); // false Since the <html> element (document.documentElement) doesn't have a parent that is an element, parentElement is null. (There are other, more unlikely, cases where parentElement could be null, but you'll probably never come across them.)
138
If you love us? You can donate to us via Paypal or buy me a coffee so we can maintain and grow! Thank you!
Donate Us With
