January 21, 2001 - The Comment Node

Yehuda Shiran January 21, 2001
The Comment Node
Tips: January 2001

Yehuda Shiran, Ph.D.
Doc JavaScript

Netscape 6and 7 supports the DOM's createComment() method. This method creates a new node, like the createNode() method: 

commentObj = document.createComment("Hello World");
The type of the comment node is 8. Click this button in Netscape 6 or 7, and see for yourself. Click in Internet Explorer and observe the error message:

One way to distinguish between a comment node and regular node is that it does not have a parent (parentNode is null.) Examine its parent:

Also, it deos not belong to the document. Examine its owner document:

Finally, examine its name:

In order to add the comment node to the DOM tree, you must explicitly call one of the node insert methods—insertBefore, replaceChild, or appendChild. Learn more about the DOM in Columns 40, The DOM, Part I: Analysis, through Column 47, A DOM-Based Snakes Game, Part II.