Typescript: Convert HTMLElement to Node

Question

How can I convert a HTMLElement to a Node element.

According to this answer (https://stackoverflow.com/a/9979779/639035 ) a An element is one specific type of node... but I cannot find a way to convert them.

I specifically need a Node element, to pass it into a MutationObserver (https://nitayneeman.com/posts/listening-to-dom-changes-using-mutationobserver-in-angular/ ), and a HTMLElement throws an error.

Answer 1

The best way to do this would be to cast your HTMLElement as a Node. There are two ways to do this. The first is the as syntax.

let myNode = theHTMLElement as Node;

You can also use the <> syntax.

let myNode = <Node>theHTMLElement;

Note: This changes the type when TypeScript is compiling, but does not magically give you the JS methods and properties of a Node.

It essentially allows you to bypass the type safety when you know you can. TypeScript will do its best to warn you if types are incompatible, but you can still introduce bugs if you are not careful.