How to retrieve the text of a DOM Text node?

Question

For a given Text node in the DOM, one can use one of these properties to retrieve its text:

• textContent
• data
• nodeValue
• wholeText

But which one to use? Which one is the most reliable and cross-browser supported?

(If multiple properties are 100% reliable and cross-browser, then which one would be most appropriate?)

Answer 1

nodeValue should be is cross-browser compatible. It is part of the original DOM Level 2 specification.

Also have a look at the compatibility table of quirksmode.org for that matter (that's what I always use to see which properties are supported by which browsers).