How Can I Determine The Type Of An Html Element In Javascript

When working with JavaScript and HTML, one common task that developers come across is determining the type of an HTML element. This can be particularly useful when you're writing code that needs to interact with specific elements on a web page. Luckily, JavaScript provides a simple and efficient way to accomplish this.

To determine the type of an HTML element in JavaScript, you can use the `tagName` property. This property returns the tag name of the element in uppercase letters. For example, if you have a `

` element on your page, accessing the `tagName` property of that element will return "DIV".

Here's a basic example of how you can use the `tagName` property to determine the type of an HTML element:

Html

<title>Determine HTML Element Type</title>


    <div id="myElement">Hello, World!</div>

    
        const element = document.getElementById('myElement');
        console.log(element.tagName); // Output: DIV

In this example, we select the `

` element with the id "myElement" and then access its `tagName` property to determine that it is a `

` element.

It's important to note that the `tagName` property returns the tag name in uppercase regardless of how it's written in your HTML code. This means that even if you have `

`, `

`, or `

` in your HTML, the `tagName` property will always return "DIV".

In addition to the `tagName` property, you can also use the `nodeName` property to achieve the same result. The `nodeName` property returns the tag name of the element in uppercase as well. The difference between `tagName` and `nodeName` is that `tagName` is specifically designed for HTML elements, while `nodeName` can be used for any type of node in the DOM, including text nodes, attribute nodes, etc.

Here's an example showcasing the usage of the `nodeName` property:

Html

<title>Determine HTML Element Type</title>


    <div id="myElement">Hello, World!</div>

    
        const element = document.getElementById('myElement');
        console.log(element.nodeName); // Output: DIV

By utilizing the `tagName` or `nodeName` properties in JavaScript, you can easily determine the type of any HTML element on your web page. This knowledge can be particularly handy when you're implementing dynamic functionalities or manipulating specific elements based on their types. So, next time you find yourself needing to identify an element's type in your JavaScript code, remember these simple properties to make your coding experience a breeze!

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