The read-only Node.nodeType
property is an integer that identifies what the node is. It distinguishes different
kind of nodes from each other, such as elements
,
text
and comments
.
Syntax
var type = node.nodeType;
Returns an integer which specifies the type of the node. Possible values are listed in Node type constants.
Constants
Node type constants
Constant | Value | Description |
---|---|---|
Node.ELEMENT_NODE |
1 |
An Element node like <p> or
<div> . |
Node.ATTRIBUTE_NODE |
2 |
An Attribute of an Element . |
Node.TEXT_NODE |
3 |
The actual Text inside an Element or
Attr . |
Node.CDATA_SECTION_NODE |
4 |
A CDATASection , such as <!CDATA[[ … ]]> . |
Node.PROCESSING_INSTRUCTION_NODE |
7 |
A ProcessingInstruction of an XML document, such as
<?xml-stylesheet … ?> . |
Node.COMMENT_NODE |
8 |
A Comment node, such as <!-- … --> . |
Node.DOCUMENT_NODE |
9 |
A Document node. |
Node.DOCUMENT_TYPE_NODE |
10 |
A DocumentType node, such as <!DOCTYPE html> .
|
Node.DOCUMENT_FRAGMENT_NODE |
11 |
A DocumentFragment node. |
Deprecated node type constants
The following constants have been deprecated and should not be used anymore.
Constant | Value | Description |
Node.ENTITY_REFERENCE_NODE |
5 | An XML Entity Reference node, such as &foo; . Removed in
DOM4. |
Node.ENTITY_NODE |
6 | An XML <!ENTITY …> node. Removed in DOM4.
|
Node.NOTATION_NODE |
12 | An XML <!NOTATION …> node. Removed in DOM4.
|
Examples
Different types of nodes
document.nodeType === Node.DOCUMENT_NODE; // true
document.doctype.nodeType === Node.DOCUMENT_TYPE_NODE; // true
document.createDocumentFragment().nodeType === Node.DOCUMENT_FRAGMENT_NODE; // true
var p = document.createElement("p");
p.textContent = "Once upon a time…";
p.nodeType === Node.ELEMENT_NODE; // true
p.firstChild.nodeType === Node.TEXT_NODE; // true
Comments
This example checks if the first node inside the document element is a comment, and displays a message if not.
var node = document.documentElement.firstChild;
if (node.nodeType !== Node.COMMENT_NODE) {
console.warn("You should comment your code!");
}
Specifications
Specification | Status | Comment |
---|---|---|
DOM The definition of 'Node.nodeType' in that specification. |
Living Standard | Deprecated ATTRIBUTE_NODE , ENTITY_REFERENCE_NODE and
NOTATION_NODE types. |
Document Object Model (DOM) Level 3 Core Specification The definition of 'Node.nodeType' in that specification. |
Obsolete | No changes. |
Document Object Model (DOM) Level 2 Core Specification The definition of 'Node.nodeType' in that specification. |
Obsolete | No changes. |
Document Object Model (DOM) Level 1 Specification The definition of 'Node.nodeType' in that specification. |
Obsolete | Initial definition. |
Browser compatibility
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