I was trying to check some of javascript code and I found one thing which I am not able to understand the exact reason. In my html file, I have a div with id called test which dont have any value. Now, I want to update the a text/ sentence inside this div through innerHTML. as it is just for testing purpose I am not using any function/ event. Just adding a to update the value.
<body>
<script type="text/javascript">
var test_content = "This is new text in my test div";
document.getElementById("test").innerHTML = test_content;
</script>
<div id="test"></div>
</body>
Now, when I load the page, it showing empty nothing inside the test div but if put the javascript code below the div as in below, then it is showing the value in the variable. (note: I am not using any function nor event, just want to update on page load).
<body>
<div id="test"></div>
<script type="text/javascript">
var test_content = "This is new text in my test div";
document.getElementById("test").innerHTML = test_content;
</script>
</body>
can any one explain me the reason for this? Thanks in advance.
Thanks!
Robin
That's because the first is executed before the div#test is created, so it currently doesn't exist. That's why is a good practice to either put your script tags at the bottom of the page or wrap them with an window.onload event listener.
<body>
<script type="text/javascript">
window.onload = function () {
var test_content = "This is new text in my test div";
document.getElementById("test").innerHTML = test_content;
}
</script>
<div id="test"></div>
</body>
If you are using jQuery, you can also do this:
$(function () {
var test_content = "This is new text in my test div";
document.getElementById("test").innerHTML = test_content;
});
And since you seem to be a beginner in JavaScript coding, I recommend you read some articles on MDN, like this one and this one.
Pretty standard issue. Needs an 'onload' of some sort!
<body>
<div id="test"></div>
<script type="text/javascript">
document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', function() {
var test_content = "This is new text in my test div";
document.getElementById("test").innerHTML = test_content;
});
</script>
</body>
The reason this is not happening in the the first instance, is because the DOM element, 'test' has not been created yet.
When you place the script after the div, the element has already been created and hence, the script can execute.
You will need to execute your code once the DOM is ready, by listening for load event dispatched from the body tag. This can be done quite simply using an in-line listener such as <body onload='myFunction'> or by an onload handler in javascript:
body.onload = function() {...}
Javascript is executed at runtime, as soon at it is being called. In your first example, the parser reads the script tag, executes it and then loads the rest of the page (top-to-bottom). As the script is executed before the div is laoded and created, the div will stay empty. That's the reason the onload event was introduced. http://www.w3schools.com/jsref/event_onload.asp
take one example of jquery you either have to write $(document).ready() or you have to write your jquery code at the last of html code and, both have same meaning i.e when all the html is loaded then do some function. this is same in this case, do some function after all the document content is loaded. take two cases:
case #1:
in this case we have the javascript code written above the html as in your first case which is without any event handler, the html engine will start reading the html code from top to bottom and at the moment it will hit to script tag it will call javascript engine. so according to this javascript code will be executed first.
if you write this line document.getElementById("test").innerHTML = test_content;
as :
var x = document.getElementById("test");
x.innerHTML = test_content;
then the console will return null i.e the value of x would benull.because div is still not loaded, therefore the value of div will not change
case #2:
script tag is placed at the last. so now, all the html is loaded by html engines, so now the value of x will be <div id="test"></div> and now all the javascript code will be executed without any error.
as i mentioned earlier about jquery $(document).ready()... well this is a jquery method but this can be written as in javascript as:
<script type="text/javascrip">
var start_script = function(){
// function to be performend
}
</script>
<body onload="start_script();">
......
</body>
because all the event are triggered when all the html is loaded and compiled.
Related
I am trying to change the entire layout of my site when the submit button is pressed. So I find it easier to switch between two JS scripts rather than trying to cram everything into one, but the page isn't responding to change in script, even though the console shows the change in the script reference. I have added the relevant snapshots below. Thank you for reading my problem...
<script src="prac.js"></script>
button.addEventListener('click', function(e){
document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0].src = 'main.js';
console.log(document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]);
});
EDIT : I am new to this forum so I did not know about the code insertion. I'm sorry about that. Also the console message essentially showed an expexted change in script reference but the website layout did not change.
EDIT 2 : The suggested deletion and appending of new script does indeed work, but can someone explain why altering the current script tag ends in failure?
Remove the script element from DOM and add another script like this:
<html>
<head>
<script src="demo1.js"></script>
</head>
<script>
window.onload = function(){
var firstScript = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; //get first script
document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0].removeChild(firstScript); //removing it from DOM <head> tag
var secondScript = document.createElement('script'); //creating another script
secondScript.src = "demo2.js"; //adding source to it
document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0].appendChild(secondScript); //adding script to DOM
};
</script>
</html>
I've been experimenting with metaprogramming in webpages, and need to delay a script tag from running until just after another script tag has been run. However, the script tag needs to be loaded first or both of them will fail.
Shortened and more readable version of what I'm trying to do:
<script defer>
w=function(){
<stuff that gives a parser error until modified by the next script tag>
}
</script>
<script>
<stuff that changes the previous script tag and any other script tags that ever will be added via the DOM
so it doesn't give a parser error>
</script>
<button onclick='w()'></button>
This would work perfectly well, except that the button's onclick attribute fails because the button was loaded before the first script tag was run.
Thanks in advance!
(EDIT: I linked a pastebin to show the full version of my code, it might clear things up a bit since it seems my summed-up version wasn't very good.
As suggested by #meagar in the comments, if you don't mind changing the type property of your "not actually javascript" script blocks you can do something like this:
<script type='derpscript'>
var derp;
var w=function(){alert('hello')};
derp||=5;
console.log(derp);
</script>
<script>
function compileDerps() {
// find all derpscript script tags
var x = document.querySelectorAll('script[type=derpscript]');
for(var i=0;i<x.length;i++){
meta=x[i].text
while(true){
pastmeta=meta;
console.log(exc=regex.exec(meta))
if(exc){
meta=meta.replace(regex,exc[1]+'='+exc[1]+'||');
}
if(pastmeta==meta){break;}
}
// make a new javascript script tag to hold the compiled derp
var s = document.createElement('script');
s.text = meta;
document.body.appendChild(s);
// delete the derpscript tag
x[i].parentNode.removeChild(x[i]);
}
}
//stuff that changes the previous script tag and any other script tags that ever will be added via the DOM
var regex=/([a-zA-Z$_][a-zA-Z$_1-9]*)(\|\|\=)/;
var meta;
var pastmeta='';
var exc='';
compileDerps();
</script>
<button onclick='w()'>THIS IS W</button>
Consider the script..
<html>
<head>
<script type="text/javascript">
document.write('TEST');
</script>
</head>
<body>
Some body content ...
</body>
</html>
This works fine and the word 'TEST' is added to the <body>
But when
<script type="text/javascript">
window.onload = function(){
document.write('TEST');
}
</script>
is used, then the body content is fully replaced by the word 'TEST' i.e, the old body contents are removed and ONLY the word 'TEST' is added.
This happens only when document.write is called within window.onload function
I tried this in chrome. Is there any mistake made by me ? any suggestions ?
document.write() is unstable if you use it after the document has finished being parsed and is closed. The behaviour is unpredictable cross-browser and you should not use it at all. Manipulate the DOM using innerHTML or createElement/createTextNode instead.
From the Mozilla documentation:
Writing to a document that has already loaded without calling document.open() will automatically perform a document.open call. Once you have finished writing, it is recommended to call document.close(), to tell the browser to finish loading the page. The text you write is parsed into the document's structure model. In the example above, the h1 element becomes a node in the document.
If the document.write() call is embedded directly in the HTML code, then it will not call document.open().
The equivalent DOM code would be:
window.onload = function(){
var tNode = document.createTextNode("TEST");
document.body.appendChild(tNode);
}
in the first case the word is not written in the body .. it is written in the head
the first one works because the document is still open for writting.. once it has completed (DOM loaded) the document is closed, and by attempting to write to it you replace it ..
When document is full loaded, any further call to document.write() will override document content. You must use document.close() before calling document.write() to avoid overwriting.
First create an element, for example a div, than add content to the div with window.onload event.
document.write('<div id="afterpostcontent"><\/div>');
window.onload = function()
{
document.getElementById('afterpostcontent').innerHTML = '<span>TEST<\/span>';
}
You can create an external JavaScript file with this content and just call it anywhere, for example:
<script src="afterpostcontentcode.js"></script>
I have a function to grab a video title from a YouTube json callback, which works - however I'm having issues inserting the variable into an element.
Here is the feed I'm grabbing:
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://gdata.youtube.com/feeds/api/videos/2WNrx2jq184?v=2&alt=json-in-script&callback=youtubeFeedCallback"></script>
The javascript function I'm using:
function youtubeFeedCallback(data) {
var info = data.entry.title.$t;
document.write(info);
}
This works fine, but I'd like to insert it into a div with the ID "box".
Usually I would use the following (and add it to the function - and remove the document.write):
var box = document.getElementById('box');
box.innerHTML = info;
I just cannot get this to work though. What would be the correct way to achieve what I'm trying to do? Thanks
http://jsfiddle.net/b3VYT/
Either make sure that the script is below the element or wrap your code in a document.ready callback so that it is not run until after the DOM is loaded.
http://jsfiddle.net/b3VYT/1
You need to make sure that the element that you are using is declared prior to your script executing:
<div id='test'></div>
<script>
function youtubeFeedCallback(data) {
document.getElementById('test').innerHTML = data.entry.title.$t;
}
</script>
Example
This question already has answers here:
Why does jQuery or a DOM method such as getElementById not find the element?
(6 answers)
Closed 8 years ago.
<html>
<head>
<title>Test javascript</title>
<script type="text/javascript">
var e = document.getElementById("db_info");
e.innerHTML='Found you';
</script>
</head>
<body>
<div id="content">
<div id="tables">
</div>
<div id="db_info">
</div>
</div>
</body>
</html>
If I use alert(e); it turns up null.... and obviously I don't get any "found you" on screen. What am I doing wrong?
The problem is that you are trying to access the element before it exists. You need to wait for the page to be fully loaded. A possible approach is to use the onload handler:
window.onload = function () {
var e = document.getElementById("db_info");
e.innerHTML='Found you';
};
Most common JavaScript libraries provide a DOM-ready event, though. This is better, since window.onload waits for all images, too. You do not need that in most cases.
Another approach is to place the script tag right before your closing </body>-tag, since everything in front of it is loaded at the time of execution, then.
How will the browser know when to run the code inside script tag? So, to make the code run after the window is loaded completely,
window.onload = doStuff;
function doStuff() {
var e = document.getElementById("db_info");
e.innerHTML='Found you';
}
The other alternative is to keep your <script...</script> just before the closing </body> tag.
Script is called before element exists.
You should try one of the following:
wrap code into a function and use a body onload event to call it.
put script at the end of document
use defer attribute into script tag declaration
The script is performed before the DOM of the body is built. Put it all into a function and call it from the onload of the body-element.
Run the code either in onload event, either just before you close body tag.
You try to find an element wich is not there at the moment you do it.