appendChild and append methods: 2 essential tools in the DOM manipulation toolkit.
Peter Sigurdson
Professor of Business IT Technology, Ontario College System | Serial Entrepreneur | Realtor with EXPRealty
Let's delve into the world of JavaScript, particularly focusing on the appendChild and append methods, two essential tools in the DOM manipulation toolkit.
While you are here, download my latest: A compendium of coding practices for JavaScript Arrays: https://t2m.io/ECMAScript6ArrayMethods
Understanding appendChild and append in ECMAScript 6
In modern web development, manipulating the Document Object Model (DOM) is a fundamental task. JavaScript provides various methods for this, among which appendChild and append are widely used. These methods, although similar in functionality, have distinct characteristics and optimal use cases. Today, we will explore these differences and understand when to use each method effectively.
appendChild: A Closer Look
**Definition**:
The appendChild method is a part of the Node interface in the DOM API. It is used to add a node to the end of the list of children of a specified parent node. If the given child is a reference to an existing node in the document, appendChild moves it from its current position to the new position.
**Syntax**:
```javascript
parentNode.appendChild(childNode);
```
**Characteristics**:
- Only accepts Node objects.
- If the childNode is already in the DOM, it will be moved to the new location.
- Returns the appended child node.
- Throws an error if the node to append is from a different document (i.e., not created by the same document).
**Example**:
```javascript
let newElement = document.createElement("div");
newElement.textContent = "Hello World!";
document.body.appendChild(newElement);
```
#### append: A Closer Look
**Definition**:
The append method, introduced in ECMAScript 6, allows you to insert a set of Node objects or DOMString objects after the last child of the parent element.
**Syntax**:
```javascript
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parentNode.append(childNode1, childNode2, ..., childNodeN);
```
**Characteristics**:
- Can append multiple nodes and strings.
- Accepts Node objects and strings (DOMString).
- Does not return the appended child node.
- More flexible than appendChild as it can handle strings directly.
**Example**:
```javascript
document.body.append("Hello", " ", "World!");
```
**Optimal Use Cases for appendChild**:
- When dealing with Node objects exclusively.
- In scenarios where error handling is crucial, especially in cases involving nodes from different documents.
- Ideal for older browsers that do not support append.
**Optimal Use Cases for append**:
- When you need to insert strings directly without converting them to text nodes.
- Useful for appending multiple elements or a mix of text and elements in one operation.
- Preferred for its simplicity and flexibility in modern web development.
#### Conclusion
Both appendChild and append are powerful tools for DOM manipulation in JavaScript.
The choice between them depends on the specific requirements of your project, such as the need to handle strings, append multiple nodes at once, or support for older browsers.
Understanding these subtleties ensures more efficient and effective DOM manipulation in your web development endeavors.