July 8, 2001 - The Attribute Object

July 8, 2001 The Attribute Node Tips: July 2001 Yehuda Shiran, Ph.D. Doc JavaScript

attObj = document.createAttribute("foo");

The attribute node is very unique. It is not anyone's child, and it does not belong to the document object. It is a depository for an attribute value. You change the attribute value via:

attObj.value = newValue;

You can query the attribute name and its value with attObj.name and attObj.value, respectively. We put the following two lines in the header of this tip:

attObj = document.createAttribute("A JavaScript Reference");
attObj.value = "Doc JavaScript";

Click the following buttons to detect the attribute name and value in Netscape 6 or Internet Explorer 6. Click them in Internet Explorer 5.5 and observe the error message:

FORM>
<INPUT TYPE="button" onClick="javascript:alert(attObj.name)" VALUE="Print Attribute Name">
</FORM>
<FORM>
<INPUT TYPE="button" onClick="javascript:alert(attObj.value)" VALUE="Print Attribute Value">
</FORM>