25.144. HTMLCollection: array of HTML elements accessible by position or nameDOM Level 2 HTML: Object HTMLCollection25.144.1. Properties
25.144.2. Methods
25.144.3. DescriptionAn HTMLCollection is a collection of HTML elements with methods that allow you to retrieve an element by its position in the collection or by its id or name attribute. In JavaScript, HTMLCollection objects behave like read-only arrays, and you can use JavaScript square-bracket notation to index an HTMLCollection by number or by name instead of calling the item( ) and namedItem( ) methods. A number of the properties of the HTMLDocument object are HTMLCollection objects and provide convenient access to document elements such as forms, images, and links. The Form.elements property and Select.options property are HTMLCollection objects. The HTMLCollection object also provides a convenient way to traverse the rows of a Table and the cells of a TableRow. HTMLCollection objects are read-only: you cannot assign new elements to them, even when using JavaScript array notation. They are "live," meaning that if the underlying document changes, those changes are immediately visible through all HTMLCollection objects. HTMLCollection objects are similar to NodeList objects but may be indexed by name as well as by number. 25.144.4. Examplevar c = document.forms; // This is an HTMLCollection of form elements var firstform = c[0]; // It can be used like a numeric array var lastform = c[c.length-1]; // The length property gives the number of elements var address = c["address"]; // It can be used like an associative array var address = c.address; // JavaScript allows this notation, too 25.144.5. See AlsoHTMLDocument, NodeList |