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javascriptdomweb-worker

Checking if object is a DOM-element

Passing DOM elements to WebWorkers gets tricky since all references to the DOM are 'lost'. I need to check objects that are passed before the WebWorker's message is sent.

What is the fastest way to check if an instance of an object is a DOM-element OR/AND part of the DOM tree, OR has 'children' that contain any references to the DOM tree?

piece of the usage:

var a = new SharedWorker("bigdatahandler.js");   
a.postMessage(s);

s //<--should not be a DOM object
Solution

  • To check if it's an element I think obj.nodeName is your best bet.

    var a = new SharedWorker("bigdatahandler.js");   
if (!s.nodeName) {
    a.postMessage(s);
}

    You can also check s instanceof Element, because you don't need to support IE I guess :)

    To check if it's part of the DOM:

    function inDOM(elem) {
  do {
      if (elem == document.documentElement) {
         return true;
      }
  } while (elem = elem.parentNode)
  return false;
}​