How does one access the Node Type Constants in IE

Question

I have a node that I'm note sure is an element (from calling node.previousSibling). However I am having trouble finding out the cross browser javascript way to access the Node constants shown on the MDC.

In all browsers but IE Node.ELEMENT_NODE is defined. I tried using a specific instance of node, e.g.:

e=$("#element_id")[0];
alert("ELEMENT_NODE: " + ELEMENT_NODE);

This does not work in IE either. So whats the IE way to do this? Do I just have to define the node constants myself?

score 6 · Accepted Answer · edited Mar 19 '15 at 18:33

6

Internet Explorer 8 and earlier don't define the node type constants, so you would have to define them yourself. Additionally, Internet Explorer 7 and earlier only support types 1 and 3.

edited Mar 19 '15 at 18:33

aebabis

3,657
3
22
40

answered Sep 18 '09 at 13:54

Greg

316,276
54
369
333

1

MSDN may say `nodeType`'s values can only be 1 or 3, but it's not true. `document.nodeType` returns 9, for example, in IE 7. `document.createComment("foo").nodeType` returns 8. – Tim Down Jun 16 '11 at 09:39

Jason Oster · Answer 2 · 2013-12-08T03:41:13.737

1

The cleanest way to define the Node Constants [when they don't exist] is by catching the exception generated when attempting to access them.

try {
    if (Node.ELEMENT_NODE != 1) {
        throw true;
    }
}
catch(e) {
    document.Node = Node || {};
    Node.ELEMENT_NODE   = 1;
    Node.ATTRIBUTE_NODE = 2;
    Node.TEXT_NODE      = 3;
}

The throw true line only executes when Node exists, but Node.ELEMENT_NODE is not the expected value.

edited Dec 08 '13 at 03:41

answered Oct 12 '10 at 22:15

Jason Oster

1,386
1
13
17

This won't do what you said it does as long as `Node` is defined; `Node.ELEMENT_NODE` will just be undefined, and so the `throw true` line definitely does end up getting executed. – Gijs Dec 06 '13 at 13:37
@Gijs That's incorrect. This code explicitly throws if `Node` is defined but `Node.ELEMENT_NODE` is not equal to `1`. – Jason Oster Dec 08 '13 at 03:39
@Gijs My apologies, I didn't fully read your statement. You are correct. I've edited my answer to reflect the logic more closely. – Jason Oster Dec 08 '13 at 03:46

score 0 · Answer 3 · edited Feb 02 '12 at 07:17

0

alert(oNode.nodeType)

and you'll get:

"1" for ELEMENT_NODE  
"2" for ATTRIBUTE_NODE  
"3" for TEXT_NODE   
"4" for CDATA_SECTION_NODE  
"5" for ENTITY_REFERENCE_NODE   
"6" for ENTITY_NODE

etc...

edited Feb 02 '12 at 07:17

stealthyninja

10,343
11
51
59

answered Feb 18 '11 at 17:17

How does one access the Node Type Constants in IE

3 Answers3

Linked