31 March 2003

1. Document Object Model Events

Editors:
Philippe Le Hégaret, W3C
Tom Pixley, Netscape Communications Corporation (until July 2002)

Table of contents

1.1. Introduction

DOM Events is designed with two main goals. The first goal is the design of an event system which allows registration of event listeners, describes event flow through a tree structure. Additionally, the specification will provide standard modules of events for user interface control and document mutation notifications, including defined contextual information for each of these event modules.

The second goal of the DOM Events is to provide a common subset of the current event systems used in DOM Level 0 browsers. This is intended to foster interoperability of existing scripts and content. It is not expected that this goal will be met with full backwards compatibility. However, the specification attempts to achieve this when possible.

The following sections of the specification define both the specification for the DOM Event Model and a number of conformant event modules designed for use within the model. The DOM Event Model consists of:

1.1.1. Event flows

This document specifies an event flow for tree-based structures: DOM event flow. While it is expected that HTML and XML applications will follow this event flow, applications might reuse the interfaces defined in this document for non tree-based structure. In that case, it is the responsibility of such application to define their event flow and how it relates to the DOM event flow. As example of such use could be found in [DOM Level 3 Load and Save].

1.1.2. Conformance

An implementation is DOM Level 3 Events conformant if it supports the Core module defined in [DOM Level 2 Core], the DOM event flow and the interfaces with their associated semantics defined in Basic interfaces. An implementation conforms to a DOM Level 3 Events module if it conforms to DOM Level 3 Events and the event types defined in the module. An implementation conforms to an event type if it conforms to its associated semantics and DOM interfaces. For example, an implementation conforms to the DOM Level 3 User Interface Events module (see User Interface event types) if it conforms to DOM Level 3 Events (i.e. implements all the basic interfaces), can generate the event types {"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "DOMActivate"} {"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "DOMFocusIn"} {"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "DOMFocusOut"} accordingly to their semantics, supports the UIEvent interface, and conforms to DOM Level 2 Core module.

Note: An implementation which does not conform to an event module can still implement the DOM interfaces associated with it. The DOM application can then create an event object using the DocumentEvent.createEvent method and dispatch an event type associated with this interface using the EventTarget.dispatchEvent method.

A DOM application may use the hasFeature(feature, version) method of the DOMImplementation interface with parameter values "Events" and "3.0" (respectively) to determine whether or not DOM Level 3 Events is supported by the implementation. In order to fully support DOM Level 3 Events, an implementation must also support the "Core" feature defined in the DOM Level 2 Core specification [DOM Level 2 Core] and use the DOM event flow. For additional information about conformance, please see the DOM Level 3 Core specification [DOM Level 3 Core]. DOM Level 3 Events is built on top of DOM Level 2 Events [DOM Level 2 Events], i.e. a DOM Level 3 Events implementation where hasFeature("Events", "3.0") returns true must also return true when the version number is "2.0", "" or, null.

Each event module describes its own feature string in the event module listing.

1.2. DOM event flow

The DOM event flow is the process through which the event originates from the DOM Events implementation and is dispatched into a tree. Each event has an event target, a targeted node in the case of the DOM Event flow, toward which the event is dispatched by the DOM Events implementation.

1.2.1. Phases

The event is dispatched following a path from the root of the tree to this target node. It can then be handled locally at the target node level or from any target ancestor higher in the tree. The event dispatching (also called event propagation) occurs in three phases:

  1. The capture phase: the event is dispatched on the target ancestors from the root of the tree to the direct parent of the target node.
  2. The target phase: the event is dispatched on the target node.
  3. The bubbling phase: the event is dispatched on the target ancestors from the direct parent of the target node to the root of the tree.


graphical representation of an event dispatched in a DOM tree using the DOM event flow
graphical representation of an event dispatched in a DOM tree using the DOM event flow

Note: An SVG 1.0 version of the representation above is also available.

The target ancestors are determined before the initial dispatch of the event. If the target node is removed during the dispatching, or a target ancestor is added or removed, the event propagation will always be based on the target node and the target ancestors determined before the dispatch.

Some events may not necessarily accomplish the three phases of the DOM event flow, e.g. the event could only be defined for one or two phases. As an example, events defined in this specification will always accomplish the capture and target phases but some will not accomplish the bubbling phase ("bubbling events" versus "non-bubbling events", see also the Event.bubbles attribute).

1.2.2. Event listeners

Each node encountered during the dispatch of the event may contain event listeners.

1.2.2.1. Registration of event listeners

Event listeners can be registered on all nodes in the tree for a specific type of event or event category, phase, and group.

If the event listener is registered on a node while an event gets processed on this node, the event listener will not be triggered during the current phase but may be triggered during a later phase in the event flow, i.e. the bubbling phase.

1.2.2.2. Event groups

An event listener is always part of a group. It is either explicitly in a group if a group has been specified at the registration or implicitly in the default group if no group has been specified. Within a group, event listeners are ordered in their order of registration. If two event listeners {A1, A2}, that are part of the same group, are registered one after the other (A1, then A2) for the same phase, the DOM event flow guarantees their triggering order (A1, then A2). If the two listeners are not part of the same group, no specification is made as to the order in which they will be triggered.

Note: While this specification does not specify a full ordering (i.e. groups are still unordered), it does specify ordering within a group. This implies that if the event listeners {A1, A2, B1, B2}, with A and B being two different groups, are registered for the same phase in the following order: A1, A2, B1, and B2. The following triggering orders are possible and conform to the DOM event flow: {A1, A2, B1, B2}, {A1, B1, A2, B2}, {B1, A1, A2, B2}, {A1, B1, B2, A2}, {B1, A1, B2, A2}, {B1, B2, A1, A2}. DOM Events implementations may impose priorities on groups but DOM applications must not rely on it. Unlike this specification, [DOM Level 2 Events] did not specify any triggering order for event listeners.

1.2.2.3. Triggering an event listener

When the event is dispatched through the tree, from node to node, event listeners registered on the node are triggered if:

  1. they were registered for the same type of event, or the same category.
  2. they were registered for the same phase;
  3. the event propagation has not been stopped for the group.

1.2.2.4. Removing an event listener

If an event listener is removed from a node while an event is being processed on the node, it will not be triggered by the current actions. Once removed, the event listener is never invoked again (unless registered again for future processing).

1.2.2.5. Reentrance

It is expected that actions taken by EventListeners may cause additional events to be dispatched. Additional events should be handled in a synchronous manner and may cause reentrance into the event model. If an event listener fires a new event using EventTarget.dispatchEvent, the event propagation that causes the event listener to be triggered will resume only after the event propagation of the new event is completed.

Since implementations may have restrictions such as stack-usage or other memory requirements, applications should not depend on how many synchronous events may be triggered.

1.2.2.6. Event propagation and event groups

All event listeners are part of a group (see Registration of event listeners). An event listener may prevent event listeners that are part of a same group from being triggered. The effect could be:

  • immediate and no more event listeners from the same group will be triggered by the event object;
  • differed until all event listeners from the same group have been triggered on the current node, i.e. the event listeners of the same group attached on other nodes will not be triggered.

If two event listeners are registered for two different groups, one cannot prevent the other from being triggered.

1.3. Default actions and cancelable events

Implementations may have a default action associated with an event type. An example is the [HTML 4.01] form element. When the user submits the form (e.g. by pressing on a submit button), the event {"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "submit"} is dispatched to the element and the default action for this event type is generally to send a request to a Web server with the parameters from the form.

The default actions are not part of the DOM Event flow. Before invoking a default action, the implementation must first dispatch the event as described in the DOM event flow.

A cancelable event is an event associated with a default action which is allowed to be canceled during the DOM event flow. At any phase during the event flow, the triggered event listeners have the option of canceling the default action or allowing the default action to proceed. In the case of the hyperlink in the browser, canceling the action would have the result of not activating the hyperlink. Not all events defined in this specification are cancelable events.

Different implementations will specify their own default actions, if any, associated with each event. The DOM Events specification does not attempt to specify these actions.

This specification does not provide mechanisms for accessing default actions or adding new ones.

Note: Some implementations also provide default actions before the dispatch of the event. It is not possible to cancel those default actions and this specification does not address them. An example of such default actions can be found in [DOM Level 2 HTML] on the HTMLInputElement.checked attribute.

1.4. Event types

Each event is associated with a type, called event type. The event type is composed of a local name and a namespace URI as defined in [XML Namespaces]. All events defined in this specification use the namespace URI "http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events".

Note: As in [DOM Level 3 Core], DOM Level 3 Events does not perform any URI normalization or canonicalization. The URIs given to the DOM are assumed to be valid (e.g., characters such as white spaces are properly escaped), and no lexical checking is performed. Absolute URI references are treated as strings and compared literally. How relative namespace URI references are treated is undefined. To ensure interoperability only absolute namespace URI references (i.e., URI references beginning with a scheme name and a colon) should be used. Applications that wish to have no namespace should use the value null as the namespaceURI parameter of methods. If they pass an empty string the DOM implementation turns it into a null.

1.4.1. Event types and event categories

An event type could be part of one or more categories. A category is represented using a local name and a namespace URI as defined in [XML Namespaces]. The event types defined in this specification are not associated with one or more event categories and this specification does not provide methods to associate them. Other specifications may create and associate event categories with event listeners but in such case would need to inform the dispatch mechanism of those event categories.

1.4.2. Complete list of event types

Depending on the level of DOM support, or the devices used to display (e.g. screen) or interact with (e.g. mouse, keyboard, touch screen, voice, ...), these event types could be generated by the implementation. When used with an [XML 1.0] or [HTML 4.01] application, the specifications of those languages may restrict the semantics and scope (in particular the possible target nodes) associated with an event type. For example, {"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "click"} can be targeted to all [XHTML 1.0] elements but applet, base, basefont, bdo, br, font, frame, frameset, head, html, iframe, isindex, meta, param, script, style, and title. Refer to the specification defining the language used in order to find those restrictions or to find event types that are not defined in this document.

The following table defines all event types provided in this specification (with the exception of two event types preserved for backward compatibility with [HTML 4.01]). All events will accomplish the capture phase and target phases, but not all of them will accomplish the bubbling phase (see also DOM event flow). Some events are not cancelable (see Default actions and cancelable events). Contextual information related to the event type are accessible using DOM interfaces.

Event type Description Bubbling phase Cancelable Target node DOM interface
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "DOMActivate" An element is activated, for instance, using a mouse device, a keyboard device, or a voice command.

Note: The activation of an element is device dependent but is also application dependent, e.g. a link in a document can be activated using a mouse click or a mouse double click.

Yes Yes Element UIEvent
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "DOMFocusIn" An event target receives focus, for instance via a pointing device being moved onto an element or using keyboard navigation. The focus is given to the element before the dispatch of this event type. Yes No Element UIEvent
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "DOMFocusOut" A event target loses focus, for instance via a pointing device being moved out of an element or by tabbing navigation out of the element. The focus is taken from the element before the dispatch of this event type. Yes No Element UIEvent
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "textInput" One or more characters have been entered. The characters can originate from a variety of sources. For example, it could be a character resulting from a key being pressed or released on a keyboard device, a character resulting from the processing of an input method editor, or resulting from a voice command. Yes Yes Element TextEvent
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "click" A pointing device button is clicked over an element. The definition of a click depends on the environment configuration; i.e. may depend on the screen location or the delay between the press and release of the pointing device button. In any case, the target node must be the same between the mousedown, mouseup, and click. The sequence of these events is: {"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "mousedown"}, {"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "mouseup"}, and {"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "click"}. Note that, given the definition of a click, If one or more of the event types {"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "mouseover"}, {"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "mousemove"}, and {"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "mouseout"} occur between the press and release of the pointing device button, the event type {"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "click"} cannot occur. In the case of nested elements, this event type is always targeted at the most deeply nested element. Yes Yes Element MouseEvent
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "mousedown" A pointing device button is pressed over an element. In the case of nested elements, this event type is always targeted at the most deeply nested element. Yes Yes Element MouseEvent
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "mouseup" A pointing device button is released over an element. In the case of nested elements, this event type is always targeted at the most deeply nested element. Yes Yes Element MouseEvent
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "mouseover" A pointing device is moved onto an element. In the case of nested elements, this event type is always targeted at the most deeply nested element. Yes Yes Element MouseEvent
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "mousemove" A pointing device is moved while it is over an element. In the case of nested elements, this event type is always targeted at the most deeply nested element. Yes Yes Element MouseEvent
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "mouseout" A pointing device is moved away from an element. In the case of nested elements, this event type is always targeted at the most deeply nested element. Yes Yes Element MouseEvent
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "keydown" A key is pressed down. This event type is device dependent and relies on the capabilities of the input devices and how they are mapped in the operating system. This event type is generated after the keyboard mapping but before the processing of the input method editor. This event should logically happen before the event {"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "keyup"} is produced. Yes Yes Element KeyboardEvent
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "keyup" A key is released. This event type is device dependent and relies on the capabilities of the input devices and how they are mapped in the operating system. This event type is generated after the keyboard mapping but before the processing of the input method editor. This event should logically happen after the event {"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "keydown"} is produced. Yes Yes Element KeyboardEvent
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "DOMSubtreeModified" This is a general event for notification of all changes to the document. It can be used instead of the more specific events listed below. It may be dispatched after a single modification to the document or, at the implementation's discretion, after multiple changes have occurred. The latter use should generally be used to accommodate multiple changes which occur either simultaneously or in rapid succession. The target of this event is the lowest common parent of the changes which have taken place. This event is dispatched after any other events caused by the mutation(s) have occurred. Yes No Document, DocumentFragment, Element, Attr MutationEvent
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "DOMNodeInserted" A node has been added as a child of another node. This event is dispatched after the insertion has taken place. The target node of this event is the node being inserted. Yes No Element, Attr, Text, Comment, CDATASection, DocumentType, EntityReference, ProcessingInstruction MutationEvent
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "DOMNodeRemoved" A node is being removed from its parent node. This event is dispatched before the node is removed from the tree. The target node of this event is the node being removed. Yes No Element, Attr, Text, Comment, CDATASection, DocumentType, EntityReference, ProcessingInstruction MutationEvent
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "DOMNodeRemovedFromDocument" A node is being removed from a document, either through direct removal of the node or removal of a subtree in which it is contained. This event is dispatched before the removal takes place. The target node of this event type is the node being removed. If the node is being directly removed, the event type {"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "DOMNodeRemoved"} will fire before this event type. No No Element, Attr, Text, Comment, CDATASection, DocumentType, EntityReference, ProcessingInstruction MutationEvent
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "DOMNodeInsertedIntoDocument" A node is being inserted into a document, either through direct insertion of the node or insertion of a subtree in which it is contained. This event is dispatched after the insertion has taken place. The target node of this event is the node being inserted. If the node is being directly inserted, the event type {"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "DOMNodeInserted"} will fire before this event type. No No Element, Attr, Text, Comment, CDATASection, DocumentType, EntityReference, ProcessingInstruction MutationEvent
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "DOMAttrModified" Occurs after an Attr has been modified on a node. The target node of this event is the parent Element node whose Attr changed. It is expected that string based replacement of an Attr value will be viewed as a modification of the Attr since its identity does not change. Subsequently replacement of the Attr node with a different Attr node is viewed as the removal of the first Attr node and the addition of the second. Yes No Element MutationEvent
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "DOMCharacterDataModified" Occurs after CharacterData.data or ProcessingInstruction.data have been modified but the node itself has not been inserted or deleted. The target node of this event is the CharacterData node or the ProcessingInstruction node. Yes No Text, Comment, CDATASection, ProcessingInstruction MutationEvent
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "DOMElementNameChanged" Occurs after the namespaceURI and/or the nodeName of an Element node have been modified (e.g., the element was renamed using Document.renameNode). The target of this event is the renamed Element node. Yes No Element MutationNameEvent
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "DOMAttributeNameChanged" Occurs after the namespaceURI and/or the nodeName of a Attr node have been modified (e.g., the attribute was renamed using Document.renameNode). The target of this event is the parent Element node whose Attr has been renamed. Yes No Element MutationNameEvent
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "load" The DOM Implementation finishes loading the resource (such as the document) and any dependent resources (such as images, style sheets, or scripts). Dependent resources that fail to load will not prevent this event from firing if the resource that loaded them is still accessible via the DOM. No No Element Event
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "unload" The DOM implementation removes from the environment the resource (such as the document) or any dependent resources (such as images, style sheets, scripts). The document is unloaded after the dispatch of this event type. No No Element Event
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "abort" The loading of the document, or a resource linked from it, is stopped before being entirely loaded. Yes No Element Event
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "error" The document, or a resource linked from it, has been loaded but cannot be interpreted according to its semantic, such as an invalid image or a script execution error. Yes No Element Event
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "select" A user selects some text. DOM Level 3 Events does not provide contextual information to access the selected text. The selection occured before the dispatch of this event type. Yes No Element Event
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "change" A control loses the input focus and its values has been modified since gaining focus. Yes No Element Event
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "submit" A form, such as [HTML 4.01], [XHTML 1.0], or [XForms 1.0] forms, is submitted. Yes Yes Element Event
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "reset" A form, such as [HTML 4.01], [XHTML 1.0], or [XForms 1.0] forms, is reset. Yes Yes Element Event
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "resize" A document view has been resized. The resize occured before the dispatch of this event type. Yes No Document UIEvent
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "scroll" A document view has been scrolled. The scroll occured before the dispatch of this event type. Yes No Document UIEvent

The event objects associated with the event types described above may contain context information. Refer to the description of the DOM interfaces for further information.

1.4.3. Compatibility with DOM Level 2 Events

Namespace URIs Were only introduced in DOM Level 3 Events and were not part of DOM Level 2 Events. DOM Level 2 Events methods are namespace ignorant and the event type is only represented by an XML name, specified in the Event.type attribute.

Therefore, while it is safe to use these methods when not dealing with namespaces, using them and the new ones at the same time should be avoided. DOM Level 2 Events methods solely identify events by their Event.type. On the contrary, the DOM Level 3 Events methods related to namespaces, identify attribute nodes by their Event.namespaceURI and Event.type. Because of this fundamental difference, mixing both sets of methods can lead to unpredictable results. For example, using EventTarget.addEventListenerNS, two event listeners (or more) could be registered using the same type and same useCapture values, but different namespaceURIs. Calling EventTarget.removeEventListener with that type and useCapture could then remove any or none of those event listeners. The result depends on the implementation. The only guarantee in such cases is that all methods which access an event listener by its namespaceURI and type will access the same event listener. For instance, EventTarget.removeEventListenerNS removes the event that EventTarget.addEventListenerNS added.

For compatibility reasons, the dispatching of an event will ignore namespace URIs if either the event or the event listener has a null namespace URI. If a DOM Level 2 event (i.e. with a null namespace URI) is dispatched in the DOM tree, all event listeners that match the type will be triggered as described in the DOM event flow. If a DOM Level 3 event (i.e. with a namespace URI) is dispatched in the DOM tree, all event listener with the same type and the same or null namespace URI, will be triggered as described in the DOM event flow.

1.5. Event listener registration

Note: This section is informative.

There are mainly two ways to associate an event listener to a node in the tree:

  1. at the programming level using the EventTarget methods.
  2. at the document level using [XML Events] or an ad-hoc syntax, as the ones provided in [XHTML 1.0] or [SVG 1.0].

1.5.1. Using the EventTarget methods

The user can attach an event listener using the methods on the EventTarget interface:

myCircle.addEventListenerNS("http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events",
                            "DOMActivate",
                            myListener,
                            true,
                            myEvtGroup);

The methods do not provide the ability to register the same event listener more than once for the same event type and the same phase. It is not possible to register an event listener:

  • for only one of the target and bubbling phases since those phases are coupled during the registration (but the listener itself could ignore events during one of these phases if desired).
  • for a specific event target and have it only triggered for this event target during the bubbling or capture phases (but again, the listener itself could ignore events with other event targets if desired).
  • for a specific event category.

To register an event listener, DOM applications must use the methods EventTarget.addEventListener and EventTarget.addEventListenerNS.

An EventListener being registered on an EventTarget may choose to have that EventListener triggered during the capture phase by specifying the useCapture parameter of the EventTarget.addEventListener or EventTarget.addEventListenerNS methods to be true. If false, the EventListener will be triggered during the target and bubbling phases.

1.5.2. Using XML Events

In [XML Events], event listeners are attached using elements and attributes:

<listener event="DOMActivate" observer="myCircle" handler="#myListener"
          phase="capture" propagate="stop"/>

Event listeners can only be registered on Element nodes, i.e. other Node types are not addressable, and cannot be registered for a specific group either, i.e. they are always attached to the default group. The target phase and the bubbling phase are coupled during the registration. [XML Events] does not address namespaces in event types. If the value of the event attribute of the listener element contains a colon (':'), it should be interpreted as a QName as defined in [XML Schema Part 2].

1.5.3. Using VoiceXML Events

In [VoiceXML 2.0], event listeners are attached using elements:

<form>
  <field>
    <prompt>Please say something</prompt>
    <catch event="error.noauthorization">
     <prompt>You don't have the authorization!</prompt>
    </catch>
    <catch event="connection.disconnect.hangup">
     <prompt>Connection error</prompt>
    </catch>
    <catch event="connection.disconnect">
     <prompt>Connection error</prompt>
    </catch>
  </field>
  <catch event="error">
    <prompt>Unknown error</prompt>
  </catch>
</form>

Event listeners can only be registered on Element nodes, i.e. other Node types are not addressable, and cannot be registered for a specific group either, i.e. they are always attached to the default group. The target phase and the bubbling phase are coupled during the registration. [VoiceXML 2.0] does not address namespaces in event types but uses the notion of event categories. The event type "connection.disconnect.hangup" could be associated to the event categories {"http://www.example.org/2003/voicexml", "connection"} and {"http://www.example.org/2003/voicexml", "connection.disconnect"}.

1.5.4. Using XML or HTML attributes

In languages such as [HTML 4.01], [XHTML 1.0], or [SVG 1.0], event listeners are specified as attributes:

<circle id="myCircle" onactivate="myListener(evt)"
        cx="300" cy="225" r="100" fill="red"/>

Since only one attribute with the same name can appear on an element, it is therefore not possible to register more than one event listener on a single EventTarget for the event type. Also, event listeners can only be registered on Element nodes for the target phase and bubbling phase, i.e. other Node types and the capture phase are not addressable with these languages. Event listeners cannot be registered for a specific group either, i.e. they are always attached to the default group.

In order to achieve compatibility with those languages, implementors may view the setting of attributes which represent event handlers as the creation and registration of an EventListener on the EventTarget. The value of useCapture defaults to false. This EventListener behaves in the same manner as any other EventListeners which may be registered on the EventTarget. If the attribute representing the event listener is changed, this may be viewed as the removal of the previously registered EventListener and the registration of a new one. Furthermore, no specification is made as to the order in which event attributes will receive the event with regards to the other EventListeners on the EventTarget.

1.6. Basic interfaces

The interfaces described in this section are fundamental to DOM Level 3 Events and must always be supported by the implementation.

Interface Event (introduced in DOM Level 2)

The Event interface is used to provide contextual information about an event to the listener processing the event. An object which implements the Event interface is passed as the parameter to an EventListener. More specific context information is passed to event listeners by deriving additional interfaces from Event which contain information directly relating to the type of event they represent. These derived interfaces are also implemented by the object passed to the event listener.


IDL Definition
// Introduced in DOM Level 2:
interface Event {

  // PhaseType
  const unsigned short      CAPTURING_PHASE                = 1;
  const unsigned short      AT_TARGET                      = 2;
  const unsigned short      BUBBLING_PHASE                 = 3;

  readonly attribute DOMString       type;
  readonly attribute EventTarget     target;
  readonly attribute EventTarget     currentTarget;
  readonly attribute unsigned short  eventPhase;
  readonly attribute boolean         bubbles;
  readonly attribute boolean         cancelable;
  readonly attribute DOMTimeStamp    timeStamp;
  void               stopPropagation();
  void               preventDefault();
  void               initEvent(in DOMString eventTypeArg, 
                               in boolean canBubbleArg, 
                               in boolean cancelableArg);
  // Introduced in DOM Level 3:
  readonly attribute DOMString       namespaceURI;
  // Introduced in DOM Level 3:
  boolean            isCustom();
  // Introduced in DOM Level 3:
  void               stopImmediatePropagation();
  // Introduced in DOM Level 3:
  boolean            isDefaultPrevented();
  // Introduced in DOM Level 3:
  void               initEventNS(in DOMString namespaceURIArg, 
                                 in DOMString eventTypeArg, 
                                 in boolean canBubbleArg, 
                                 in boolean cancelableArg);
};

Definition group PhaseType

An integer indicating which phase of the event flow is being processed as defined in DOM event flow.

Defined Constants
AT_TARGET
The current event is in the target phase, i.e. it is being evaluated at the event target.
BUBBLING_PHASE
The current event phase is the bubbling phase.
CAPTURING_PHASE
The current event phase is the capture phase.
Attributes
bubbles of type boolean, readonly
Used to indicate whether or not an event is a bubbling event. If the event can bubble the value is true, otherwise the value is false.
cancelable of type boolean, readonly
Used to indicate whether or not an event can have its default action prevented (see also Default actions and cancelable events). If the default action can be prevented the value is true, otherwise the value is false.
currentTarget of type EventTarget, readonly
Used to indicate the EventTarget whose EventListeners are currently being processed. This is particularly useful during the capture and bubbling phases. This attribute could contain the target node or a target ancestor when used with the DOM event flow.
eventPhase of type unsigned short, readonly
Used to indicate which phase of event flow is currently being accomplished.
namespaceURI of type DOMString, readonly, introduced in DOM Level 3
The namespace URI associated with this event at creation time, or null if it is unspecified.
For events initialized with a DOM Level 2 Events method, such as initEvent, this is always null.
target of type EventTarget, readonly
Used to indicate the event target. This attribute contain the target node when used with the DOM event flow.
timeStamp of type DOMTimeStamp, readonly
Used to specify the time (in milliseconds relative to the epoch) at which the event was created. Due to the fact that some systems may not provide this information the value of timeStamp may be not available for all events. When not available, a value of 0 will be returned. Examples of epoch time are the time of the system start or 0:0:0 UTC 1st January 1970.
type of type DOMString, readonly
The name must be an NCName as defined in [XML Namespaces] and is case-sensitive. The character ":" (colon) should not be used in this attribute.
If the attribute Event.namespaceURI is different from null, this attribute represents a local name.
Methods
initEvent
The initEvent method is used to initialize the value of an Event created through the DocumentEvent.createEvent method. This method may only be called before the Event has been dispatched via the EventTarget.dispatchEvent method. If the method is called several times before invoking EventTarget.dispatchEvent, only the final invocation takes precedence. If called from a subclass of Event interface only the values specified in this method are modified, all other attributes are left unchanged.
This method sets the Event.type attribute to eventTypeArg, and Event.localName and Event.namespaceURI to null. To initialize an event with a local name and namespace URI, use the initEventNS method.
Parameters
eventTypeArg of type DOMString
Specifies the event type.
canBubbleArg of type boolean
Specifies whether or not the event can bubble. This parameter overrides the intrinsic bubbling behavior of the event.
cancelableArg of type boolean
Specifies whether or not the event's default action can be prevented. This parameter overrides the intrinsic cancelable behavior of the event.
No Return Value
No Exceptions
initEventNS introduced in DOM Level 3
The initEventNS method is used to initialize the value of an Event created through the DocumentEvent interface. This method may only be called before the Event has been dispatched via the dispatchEvent method, though it may be called multiple times the event has been dispatched. If called multiple times the final invocation takes precedence. If a call to initEventNS is made after one of the Event derived interfaces' init methods has been called, only the values specified in the initEventNS method are modified, all other attributes are left unchanged.
This method sets the Event.type attribute to eventTypeArg, and Event.namespaceURI to namespaceURIArg.
Parameters
namespaceURIArg of type DOMString
Specifies the namespace URI associated with this event, or null if no namespace.
eventTypeArg of type DOMString
Specifies the local name of the event type (see also the description of Event.type).
canBubbleArg of type boolean
Specifies whether or not the event can bubble.
cancelableArg of type boolean
Specifies whether or not the event's default action can be prevented.
No Return Value
No Exceptions
isCustom introduced in DOM Level 3
This method will always return false, unless the event implements the CustomEvent interface.
Return Value

boolean

true if preventDefault() has been called for this event.

No Parameters
No Exceptions
isDefaultPrevented introduced in DOM Level 3
This method will return true if the method preventDefault() has been called for this event, false otherwise.
Return Value

boolean

true if preventDefault() has been called for this event.

No Parameters
No Exceptions
preventDefault
If an event is cancelable, the preventDefault method is used to signify that the event is to be canceled, meaning any default action normally taken by the implementation as a result of the event will not occur (see also Default actions and cancelable events), and thus independently of event groups. Calling this method for a non-cancelable event has no effect.

Note: This method does not stop the event propagation; use stopPropagation or stopImmediatePropagation for that effect.

No Parameters
No Return Value
No Exceptions
stopImmediatePropagation introduced in DOM Level 3
This method is used to prevent event listeners of the same group to be triggered and, unlike stopPropagation its effect is immediate (see Event propagation and event groups). Once it has been called, further calls to that method have no additional effect.

Note: This method does not prevent the default action from being invoked; use preventDefault for that effect.

No Parameters
No Return Value
No Exceptions
stopPropagation
This method is used to prevent event listeners of the same group to be triggered but its effect is differed until all event listeners attached on the currentTarget have been triggered (see Event propagation and event groups). Once it has been called, further calls to that method have no additional effect.

Note: This method does not prevent the default action from being invoked; use preventDefault for that effect.

No Parameters
No Return Value
No Exceptions
Interface EventTarget (introduced in DOM Level 2)

The EventTarget interface is implemented by all the objects which could be event targets in an implementation which supports the Event flows. The interface allows registration, removal or query of event listeners, and dispatch of events to an event target.

When used with DOM event flow, this interface is implemented by all target nodes and target ancestors, i.e. all DOM Nodes of the tree support this interface when the implementation conforms to DOM Level 3 Events and, therefore, this interface can be obtained by using binding-specific casting methods on an instance of the Node interface.

Invoking multiple times addEventListener or addEventListenerNS on the same EventTarget with the same parameters (namespaceURI, type, listener, and useCapture) is considered to be a no-op and thus independently of the event group. They do not cause the EventListener to be called more than once and do not cause a change in the triggering order. In order to guarantee that an event listener will be added to the event target for the specified event group, one needs to invoke removeEventListener or removeEventListenerNS first.


IDL Definition
// Introduced in DOM Level 2:
interface EventTarget {
  void               addEventListener(in DOMString type, 
                                      in EventListener listener, 
                                      in boolean useCapture);
  void               removeEventListener(in DOMString type, 
                                         in EventListener listener, 
                                         in boolean useCapture);
  // Modified in DOM Level 3:
  boolean            dispatchEvent(in Event evt)
                                        raises(EventException);
  // Introduced in DOM Level 3:
  void               addEventListenerNS(in DOMString namespaceURI, 
                                        in DOMString type, 
                                        in EventListener listener, 
                                        in boolean useCapture, 
                                        in DOMObject evtGroup);
  // Introduced in DOM Level 3:
  void               removeEventListenerNS(in DOMString namespaceURI, 
                                           in DOMString type, 
                                           in EventListener listener, 
                                           in boolean useCapture);
  // Introduced in DOM Level 3:
  boolean            willTriggerNS(in DOMString namespaceURI, 
                                   in DOMString type);
  // Introduced in DOM Level 3:
  boolean            hasEventListenerNS(in DOMString namespaceURI, 
                                        in DOMString type);
};

Methods
addEventListener
This method allows the registration of an event listener in the default group and, depending on the useCapture parameter, on the capture phase of the DOM event flow or its target and bubbling phases.
Parameters
type of type DOMString
Specifies the Event.type associated with the event for which the user is registering.
listener of type EventListener
The listener parameter takes an object implemented by the user which implements the EventListener interface and contains the method to be called when the event occurs.
useCapture of type boolean
If true, useCapture indicates that the user wishes to add the event listener for the capture phase only, i.e. this event listener will not be triggered during the target and bubbling phases. If false, the event listener will only be triggered during the target and bubbling phases.
No Return Value
No Exceptions
addEventListenerNS introduced in DOM Level 3
This method allows the registration of an event listener in a specified group or the default group and, depending on the useCapture parameter, on the capture phase of the DOM event flow or its target and bubbling phases.
Parameters
namespaceURI of type DOMString
Specifies the Event.namespaceURI associated with the event for which the user is registering.
type of type DOMString
Specifies the Event.type associated with the event for which the user is registering.
listener of type EventListener
The listener parameter takes an object implemented by the user which implements the EventListener interface and contains the method to be called when the event occurs.
useCapture of type boolean
If true, useCapture indicates that the user wishes to add the event listener for the capture phase only, i.e. this event listener will not be triggered during the target and bubbling phases. If false, the event listener will only be triggered during the target and bubbling phases.
evtGroup of type DOMObject
The object that represents the event group to associate with the EventListener (see also Event propagation and event groups). Use null to attach the event listener to the default group.
No Return Value
No Exceptions
dispatchEvent modified in DOM Level 3
This method allows the dispatch of events into the implementation's event model. The event target of the event is the EventTarget object on which dispatchEvent is called.
Parameters
evt of type Event
The event to be dispatched.
Return Value

boolean

Indicates whether any of the listeners which handled the event called preventDefault. If preventDefault was called the returned value is false, else it is true.

Exceptions

EventException

UNSPECIFIED_EVENT_TYPE_ERR: Raised if the Event.type was not specified by initializing the event before dispatchEvent was called. Specification of the Event.type as null or an empty string will also trigger this exception.

DISPATCH_REQUEST_ERR: Raised if the Event object is already being dispatched in the tree.

NOT_SUPPORTED_ERR: Raised if the Event object has not been created using DocumentEvent.createEvent or does not support the interface CustomEvent.

hasEventListenerNS introduced in DOM Level 3
This method allows the DOM application to know if this EventTarget contains an event listener registered for the specified event type. This is useful for determining at which nodes within a hierarchy altered handling of specific event types has been introduced, but should not be used to determine whether the specified event type triggers an event listener (see willTriggerNS).
Issue canTriggerOnTarget-useCapture:
do we need a useCapture parameter?
Resolution: No use case for that.
Parameters
namespaceURI of type DOMString
Specifies the Event.namespaceURI associated with the event.
type of type DOMString
Specifies the Event.type associated with the event.
Return Value

boolean

true if an event listener is registered on this EventTarget for the specified event type, false otherwise.

No Exceptions
removeEventListener
This method allows the removal of event listeners from the default group.
Calling removeEventListener with arguments which do not identify any currently registered EventListener on the EventTarget has no effect.
Parameters
type of type DOMString
Specifies the Event.type for which the user registered the event listener.
listener of type EventListener
The EventListener to be removed.
useCapture of type boolean
Specifies whether the EventListener being removed was registered for the capture phase or not. If a listener was registered twice, once for the capture phase and once for the target and bubbling phases, each must be removed separately. Removal of an event listener registered for the capture phase does not affect the same event listener registered for the target and bubbling phases, and vice versa.
No Return Value
No Exceptions
removeEventListenerNS introduced in DOM Level 3
This method allows the removal of event listeners from a specified group or the default group.
Calling removeEventListenerNS with arguments which do not identify any currently registered EventListener on the EventTarget has no effect.
Parameters
namespaceURI of type DOMString
Specifies the Event.namespaceURI associated with the event for which the user registered the event listener.
type of type DOMString
Specifies the Event.type associated with the event for which the user registered the event listener.
listener of type EventListener
The EventListener parameter indicates the EventListener to be removed.
useCapture of type boolean
Specifies whether the EventListener being removed was registered for the capture phase or not. If a listener was registered twice, once for the capture phase and once for the target and bubbling phases, each must be removed separately. Removal of an event listener registered for the capture phase does not affect the same event listener registered for the target and bubbling phases, and vice versa.
No Return Value
No Exceptions
willTriggerNS introduced in DOM Level 3
This method allows the DOM application to know if an event listener, attached to this EventTarget or one of its ancestors, will be triggered by the specified event type during the dispatch of the event to this event target or one of its descendants.
Parameters
namespaceURI of type DOMString
Specifies the Event.namespaceURI associated with the event.
type of type DOMString
Specifies the Event.type associated with the event.
Return Value

boolean

true if an event listener will be triggered on the EventTarget with the specified event type, false otherwise.

No Exceptions
Interface EventListener (introduced in DOM Level 2)

The EventListener interface is the primary way for handling events. Users implement the EventListener interface and register their event listener on an EventTarget. The users should also remove their EventListener from its EventTarget after they have completed using the listener.

Copying a Node does not copy the event listeners attached to it. Event listeners must be attached to the newly created Node afterwards if so desired. Therefore, Nodes are copied using Node.cloneNode or Range.cloneContents, the EventListeners attached to the source Nodes are not attached to their copies.

Moving a Node does not affect the event listeners attached to it. Therefore, when Nodes are moved using Document.adoptNode, Node.appendChild, or Range.extractContents, the EventListeners attached to the moved Nodes stay attached to them.


IDL Definition
// Introduced in DOM Level 2:
interface EventListener {
  void               handleEvent(in Event evt);
};

Methods
handleEvent
This method is called whenever an event occurs of the event type for which the EventListener interface was registered.
Parameters
evt of type Event
The Event contains contextual information about the event.
No Return Value
No Exceptions
Exception EventException introduced in DOM Level 2

Event operations may throw an EventException as specified in their method descriptions.


IDL Definition
// Introduced in DOM Level 2:
exception EventException {
  unsigned short   code;
};
// EventExceptionCode
const unsigned short      UNSPECIFIED_EVENT_TYPE_ERR     = 0;
// Introduced in DOM Level 3:
const unsigned short      DISPATCH_REQUEST_ERR           = 1;

Definition group EventExceptionCode

An integer indicating the type of error generated.

Defined Constants
DISPATCH_REQUEST_ERR, introduced in DOM Level 3.
If the Event object is already dispatched in the tree.
UNSPECIFIED_EVENT_TYPE_ERR
If the Event.type was not specified by initializing the event before the method was called. Specification of the Event.type as null or an empty string will also trigger this exception.

1.6.1. Event creation

In most cases, the events dispatched by the DOM Events implementation are also created by the implementation. It is however possible to simulate events such as mouse events by creating the Event objects and dispatch them using the DOM Events implementation.

DOM Events provides two ways for creating Event objects. An application can either create Event objects that are known to the implementation, or create its own objects and have them dispatched by the DOM Events implementation.

Creating Event objects that are known to the DOM Events implementation is done using DocumentEvent.createEvent. The application must then initialize the object by calling the appropriate initialization method before invoking EventTarget.dispatchEvent. The Event objects created must be known by the DOM Events implementation otherwise an event exception is thrown.

The DOM application might want to create its own Event objects, in order to change the default Event implementation provided by the DOM Events implementation or to generate new event types with specific contextual information. In any case, the application is responsible for creating and initializing the Event object. The application can then dispatch the event using the DOM Events implementation by using EventTarget.dispatchEvent.

However, the DOM Events implementation requires to have access to two attributes in the Event object in order to accomplish the dispatch appropriately: Event.currentTarget and Event.eventPhase. Those attributes are defined as readonly in the Event interface since event listeners must not change them and it is the responsibility of the DOM Events implementation to update them during the event flow. Therefore, implementing the Event interface when creating its own events is not enough for an application since the DOM Events implementation will not be able to update the current phase and the current node during the dispatch, unless the event object also implements the CustomEvent interface to give access to the relevant attributes.

Interface DocumentEvent (introduced in DOM Level 2)

The DocumentEvent interface provides a mechanism by which the user can create an Event object of a type supported by the implementation. It is expected that the DocumentEvent interface will be implemented on the same object which implements the Document interface in an implementation which supports the Event model.


IDL Definition
// Introduced in DOM Level 2:
interface DocumentEvent {
  Event              createEvent(in DOMString eventType)
                                        raises(DOMException);
  // Introduced in DOM Level 3:
  boolean            canDispatch(in DOMString namespaceURI, 
                                 in DOMString type);
};

Methods
canDispatch introduced in DOM Level 3
Test if the implementation can generate events of a specified type.
Parameters
namespaceURI of type DOMString
Specifies the Event.namespaceURI of the event.
type of type DOMString
Specifies the Event.type of the event.
Return Value

boolean

true if the implementation can generate and dispatch this event type, false otherwise.

No Exceptions
createEvent
Parameters
eventType of type DOMString
The eventType parameter specifies the name of the DOM Events interface to be supported by the created event object, e.g. "Event", "MouseEvent", "MutationEvent" ... If the Event is to be dispatched via the EventTarget.dispatchEvent method the appropriate event init method must be called after creation in order to initialize the Event's values.
As an example, a user wishing to synthesize some kind of UIEvent would call DocumentEvent.createEvent with the parameter "UIEvent". The UIEvent.initUIEventNS method could then be called on the newly created UIEvent object to set the specific type of user interface event to be dispatched, {"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "DOMActivate"} for example, and set its context information, e.g. UIEvent.detail in this example.
The createEvent method is used in creating Events when it is either inconvenient or unnecessary for the user to create an Event themselves. In cases where the implementation provided Event is insufficient, users may supply their own Event implementations for use with the EventTarget.dispatchEvent method. However, the DOM implementation needs access to the attributes Event.currentTarget and Event.eventPhase to propagate appropriately the event in the DOM tree. Therefore users' Event implementations might need to support the CustomEvent interface for that effect.

Note: For backward compatibility reason, "UIEvents", "MouseEvents", "MutationEvents", and "HTMLEvents" feature names are valid values for the parameter eventType and represent respectively the interfaces "UIEvent", "MouseEvent", "MutationEvent", and "Event".

Return Value

Event

The newly created event object.

Exceptions

DOMException

NOT_SUPPORTED_ERR: Raised if the implementation does not support the Event interface requested.

Interface CustomEvent (introduced in DOM Level 3)

The CustomEvent interface gives access to the attributes Event.currentTarget and Event.eventPhase. It is intended to be used by the DOM Events implementation to access the underlying current target and event phase while dispatching a custom Event in the tree; it is also intended to be implemented, and not used, by DOM applications.

The methods contained in this interface are not intended to be used by a DOM application, especially during the dispatch on the Event object. Changing the current target or the current phase may conduct into unpredictable results of the event flow. The DOM Events implementation should ensure that both methods return the appropriate current target and phase before invoking each event listener on the current target to protect DOM applications from malicious event listeners.

Note: If this interface is supported by the event object, Event.isCustom() must return true.


IDL Definition
// Introduced in DOM Level 3:
interface CustomEvent : Event {
  void               setDispatchState(in EventTarget target, 
                                      in unsigned short phase);
  boolean            isPropagationStopped();
  boolean            isImmediatePropagationStopped();
};

Methods
isImmediatePropagationStopped
The isImmediatePropagationStopped method is used by the DOM Events implementation to know if the method stopImmediatePropagation() has been called for this event. It returns true if the method has been called, false otherwise.
Return Value

boolean

true if the event propagation has been stopped immediately in the current group.

No Parameters
No Exceptions
isPropagationStopped
This method will return true if the method stopPropagation() has been called for this event, false in any other cases.
Return Value

boolean

true if the event propagation has been stopped in the current group.

No Parameters
No Exceptions
setDispatchState
The setDispatchState method is used by the DOM Events implementation to set the values of Event.currentTarget and Event.eventPhase. It also reset the states of isPropagationStopped and isImmediatePropagationStopped.
Parameters
target of type EventTarget
Specifies the new value for the Event.currentTarget attribute.
phase of type unsigned short
Specifies the new value for the Event.eventPhase attribute.
No Return Value
No Exceptions

1.7. Event module definitions

The DOM Event Model allows a DOM implementation to support multiple modules of events. The model has been designed to allow addition of new event modules as is required. The DOM will not attempt to define all possible events. For purposes of interoperability, the DOM will define a module of user interface events including lower level device dependent events, a module of UI logical events, and a module of document mutation events.

1.7.1. User Interface event types

The User Interface event module contains basic event types associated with user interfaces.

Interface UIEvent (introduced in DOM Level 2)

The UIEvent interface provides specific contextual information associated with User Interface events.

Note: To create an instance of the UIEvent interface, use the feature string "UIEvent" as the value of the input parameter used with the DocumentEvent.createEvent method.


IDL Definition
// Introduced in DOM Level 2:
interface UIEvent : Event {
  readonly attribute views::AbstractView view;
  readonly attribute long            detail;
  void               initUIEvent(in DOMString typeArg, 
                                 in boolean canBubbleArg, 
                                 in boolean cancelableArg, 
                                 in views::AbstractView viewArg, 
                                 in long detailArg);
  // Introduced in DOM Level 3:
  void               initUIEventNS(in DOMString namespaceURI, 
                                   in DOMString typeArg, 
                                   in boolean canBubbleArg, 
                                   in boolean cancelableArg, 
                                   in views::AbstractView viewArg, 
                                   in long detailArg);
};

Attributes
detail of type long, readonly
Specifies some detail information about the Event, depending on the type of event.
view of type views::AbstractView, readonly
The view attribute identifies the AbstractView from which the event was generated.
Methods
initUIEvent
The initUIEvent method is used to initialize the value of a UIEvent created using the DocumentEvent.createEvent method. This method may only be called before the UIEvent has been dispatched via the EventTarget.dispatchEvent method, though it may be called multiple times during that phase if necessary. If called multiple times, the final invocation takes precedence.
Parameters
typeArg of type DOMString
Specifies the event type.
canBubbleArg of type boolean
Specifies whether or not the event can bubble. This parameter overrides the intrinsic bubbling behavior of the event.
cancelableArg of type boolean
Specifies whether or not the event's default action can be prevented. This parameter overrides the intrinsic cancelable behavior of the event.
viewArg of type views::AbstractView
Specifies the Event's AbstractView.
detailArg of type long
Specifies the Event's detail.
No Return Value
No Exceptions
initUIEventNS introduced in DOM Level 3
The initUIEventNS method is used to initialize the value of a UIEvent created using the DocumentEvent.createEvent method. This method may only be called before the UIEvent has been dispatched via the EventTarget.dispatchEvent method, though it may be called multiple times during that phase if necessary. If called multiple times, the final invocation takes precedence.
Parameters
namespaceURI of type DOMString
Specifies the namespace URI associated with this event, or null if the application wish not to use namespaces.
typeArg of type DOMString
Specifies the event type (see also the description of the type attribute in the Event interface).
canBubbleArg of type boolean
Specifies whether or not the event can bubble.
cancelableArg of type boolean
Specifies whether or not the event's default action can be prevented.
viewArg of type views::AbstractView
Specifies the Event's AbstractView.
detailArg of type long
Specifies the Event's detail.
No Return Value
No Exceptions

The User Interface event types are listed below. For a full description of the semantics associated with these event types, refer to the Complete list of event types. A DOM application may use the hasFeature(feature, version) method of the DOMImplementation interface with parameter values "UIEvents" and "3.0" (respectively) to determine whether or not the DOM Level 3 User Interface event types are supported by the implementation. In order to fully support this module, an implementation must also support the "Events" feature defined in this specification and the "Views" feature defined in the DOM Level 2 Views specification [DOM Level 2 Views]. For additional information about conformance, please see the DOM Level 3 Core specification [DOM Level 3 Core]. The DOM Level 3 User Interface Events module is built on top of the DOM Level 2 User Interface Events [DOM Level 2 Events] module, i.e. a DOM Level 3 User Interface Events implementation where hasFeature("UIEvents", "3.0") returns true must also return true when the version number is "2.0", "" or, null.

Event type Context information
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "DOMActivate" UIEvent.view is in use.
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "DOMFocusIn" (same as above)
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "DOMFocusOut" (same as above)

1.7.2. Text events

The text event module originates from the [HTML 4.01] onkeypress attribute. Unlike this attribute, the event type {"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "textInput"} applies only to characters and is specifically designed for use with text input devices.

Interface TextEvent (introduced in DOM Level 3)

The TextEvent interface provides specific contextual information associated with Text Events.

Note: To create an instance of the TextEvent interface, use the feature string "TextEvent" as the value of the input parameter used with the DocumentEvent.createEvent method.

Issue auto-repeat:
In the past, detail was used to contain the repeat count for the key. Do we want to keep this notion? How? using an auto-repeat event instead? Use cases?
Resolution: closed.
Issue visibleOutputGenerated-1:
same question for visibleOutputGenerated: This attribute is device dependent (display related). What happen on voice system for example? What are the real use cases for it?
Resolution: closed.
Issue paste-1:
What happens on paste through Ctrl-V? Do you get a textInput event or not if the selection contains characters?
Resolution: This will be undefined by this specification.

IDL Definition
// Introduced in DOM Level 3:
interface TextEvent : UIEvent {
  readonly attribute DOMString       data;
  void               initTextEvent(in DOMString typeArg, 
                                   in boolean canBubbleArg, 
                                   in boolean cancelableArg, 
                                   in views::AbstractView viewArg, 
                                   in DOMString dataArg);
  void               initTextEventNS(in DOMString namespaceURI, 
                                     in DOMString type, 
                                     in boolean canBubbleArg, 
                                     in boolean cancelableArg, 
                                     in views::AbstractView viewArg, 
                                     in DOMString dataArg);
};

Attributes
data of type DOMString, readonly
data holds the value of the characters generated by the character device. This may be a single Unicode character or it may be a string.
Methods
initTextEvent
The initTextEvent method is used to initialize the value of a TextEvent created using the DocumentEvent.createEvent method. This method may only be called before the TextEvent has been dispatched via the EventTarget.dispatchEvent method, though it may be called multiple times during that phase if necessary. If called multiple times, the final invocation takes precedence. This method has no effect if called after the event has been dispatched.
Parameters
typeArg of type DOMString
Specifies the event type.
canBubbleArg of type boolean
Specifies whether or not the event can bubble. This parameter overrides the intrinsic bubbling behavior of the event.
cancelableArg of type boolean
Specifies whether or not the event's default action can be prevent. This parameter overrides the intrinsic cancelable behavior of the event.
viewArg of type views::AbstractView
Specifies the TextEvent's view.
dataArg of type DOMString
Specifies the TextEvent's data attribute
No Return Value
No Exceptions
initTextEventNS
The initTextEventNS method is used to initialize the value of a TextEvent created using the DocumentEvent.createEvent method. This method may only be called before the TextEvent has been dispatched via the EventTarget.dispatchEvent method, though it may be called multiple times during that phase if necessary. If called multiple times, the final invocation takes precedence. This method has no effect if called after the event has been dispatched.
Parameters
namespaceURI of type DOMString
Specifies the namespace URI associated with this event, or null if the applications wish to have no namespace.
type of type DOMString
Specifies the event type.
canBubbleArg of type boolean
Specifies whether or not the event can bubble.
cancelableArg of type boolean
Specifies whether or not the event's default action can be prevent.
viewArg of type views::AbstractView
Specifies the TextEvent's view.
dataArg of type DOMString
Specifies the TextEvent's data attribute
No Return Value
No Exceptions

The text event type is listed below. For a full description of the semantics associated with this event type, refer to the Complete list of event types. A DOM application may use the hasFeature(feature, version) method of the DOMImplementation interface with parameter values "TextEvents" and "3.0" (respectively) to determine whether or not the Text event module is supported by the implementation. In order to fully support this module, an implementation must also support the "UIEvents" feature defined in this specification. For additional information about conformance, please see the DOM Level 3 Core specification [DOM Level 3 Core].

Event type Context information
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "textInput" UIEvent.view and TextEvent.data are in use.

1.7.3. Mouse event types

The Mouse event module originates from the [HTML 4.01] onclick, ondblclick, onmousedown, onmouseup, onmouseover, onmousemove, and onmouseout attributes. This event module is specifically designed for use with pointing input devices, such a mouse.

Interface MouseEvent (introduced in DOM Level 2)

The MouseEvent interface provides specific contextual information associated with Mouse events.

In the case of nested elements mouse events are always targeted at the most deeply nested element. Ancestors of the targeted element may use bubbling to obtain notification of mouse events which occur within its descendent elements.

Note: To create an instance of the MouseEvent interface, use the feature string "MouseEvent" as the value of the input parameter used with the DocumentEvent.createEvent method.


IDL Definition
// Introduced in DOM Level 2:
interface MouseEvent : UIEvent {
  readonly attribute long            screenX;
  readonly attribute long            screenY;
  readonly attribute long            clientX;
  readonly attribute long            clientY;
  readonly attribute boolean         ctrlKey;
  readonly attribute boolean         shiftKey;
  readonly attribute boolean         altKey;
  readonly attribute boolean         metaKey;
  readonly attribute unsigned short  button;
  readonly attribute EventTarget     relatedTarget;
  void               initMouseEvent(in DOMString typeArg, 
                                    in boolean canBubbleArg, 
                                    in boolean cancelableArg, 
                                    in views::AbstractView viewArg, 
                                    in long detailArg, 
                                    in long screenXArg, 
                                    in long screenYArg, 
                                    in long clientXArg, 
                                    in long clientYArg, 
                                    in boolean ctrlKeyArg, 
                                    in boolean altKeyArg, 
                                    in boolean shiftKeyArg, 
                                    in boolean metaKeyArg, 
                                    in unsigned short buttonArg, 
                                    in EventTarget relatedTargetArg);
  // Introduced in DOM Level 3:
  void               initMouseEventNS(in DOMString namespaceURI, 
                                      in DOMString typeArg, 
                                      in boolean canBubbleArg, 
                                      in boolean cancelableArg, 
                                      in views::AbstractView viewArg, 
                                      in long detailArg, 
                                      in long screenXArg, 
                                      in long screenYArg, 
                                      in long clientXArg, 
                                      in long clientYArg, 
                                      in boolean ctrlKeyArg, 
                                      in boolean altKeyArg, 
                                      in boolean shiftKeyArg, 
                                      in boolean metaKeyArg, 
                                      in unsigned short buttonArg, 
                                      in EventTarget relatedTargetArg, 
                                      in boolean altGraphKeyArg);
  // Introduced in DOM Level 3:
  readonly attribute boolean         altGraphKey;
};

Attributes
altGraphKey of type boolean, readonly, introduced in DOM Level 3
true if the alt-graph (Alt Gr) key modifier is activated.

Note: Some operating systems simulate the alt-graph key modifier with the combinaison of alt and ctrl key modifiers. Implementations are encouraged to use this modifier instead.

altKey of type boolean, readonly
true if the alt (alternative) key modifier is activated.
button of type unsigned short, readonly
During mouse events caused by the depression or release of a mouse button, button is used to indicate which mouse button changed state. 0 indicates the normal (in general on the left or the one button on Macintosh mice, used to activate a button or select text) button of the mouse. 2 indicates the contextual property (in general on the right, used to display a context menu) button of the mouse if present. 1 indicates the extra (in general in the middle and often combined with the mouse wheel) button. Some mice may provide or simulate more buttons and values higher than 2 could be used to represent such buttons.
clientX of type long, readonly
The horizontal coordinate at which the event occurred relative to the DOM implementation's client area.
clientY of type long, readonly
The vertical coordinate at which the event occurred relative to the DOM implementation's client area.
ctrlKey of type boolean, readonly
true if the control (Ctrl) key modifier is activated.
metaKey of type boolean, readonly
true if the meta (Meta) key modifier is activated.

Note: The Command key modifier on Macintosh system must be represented using this key modifier.

relatedTarget of type EventTarget, readonly
Used to identify a secondary EventTarget related to a UI event. Currently this attribute is used with the mouseover event to indicate the EventTarget which the pointing device exited and with the mouseout event to indicate the EventTarget which the pointing device entered.
screenX of type long, readonly
The horizontal coordinate at which the event occurred relative to the origin of the screen coordinate system.
screenY of type long, readonly
The vertical coordinate at which the event occurred relative to the origin of the screen coordinate system.
shiftKey of type boolean, readonly
true if the shift (Shift) key modifier is activated.
Methods
initMouseEvent
The initMouseEvent method is used to initialize the value of a MouseEvent created using the DocumentEvent.createEvent method. This method may only be called before the MouseEvent has been dispatched via the EventTarget.dispatchEvent method, though it may be called multiple times before being dispatched. If called multiple times, the final invocation takes precedence.
Parameters
typeArg of type DOMString
Specifies the event type.
canBubbleArg of type boolean
Specifies whether or not the event can bubble.
cancelableArg of type boolean
Specifies whether or not the event's default action can be prevented.
viewArg of type views::AbstractView
Specifies the Event's view.
detailArg of type long
Specifies the Event's mouse click count.
screenXArg of type long
Specifies the Event's screen x coordinate
screenYArg of type long
Specifies the Event's screen y coordinate
clientXArg of type long
Specifies the Event's client x coordinate
clientYArg of type long
Specifies the Event's client y coordinate
ctrlKeyArg of type boolean
Specifies whether or not control key was depressed during the Event.
altKeyArg of type boolean
Specifies whether or not alt key was depressed during the Event.
shiftKeyArg of type boolean
Specifies whether or not shift key was depressed during the Event.
metaKeyArg of type boolean
Specifies whether or not meta key was depressed during the Event.
buttonArg of type unsigned short
Specifies the Event's mouse button.
relatedTargetArg of type EventTarget
Specifies the Event's related EventTarget.
No Return Value
No Exceptions
initMouseEventNS introduced in DOM Level 3
The initMouseEventNS method is used to initialize the value of a MouseEvent created using the DocumentEvent.createEvent interface. This method may only be called before the MouseEvent has been dispatched via the EventTarget.dispatchEvent method, though it may be called multiple times during that phase if necessary. If called multiple times, the final invocation takes precedence.
Parameters
namespaceURI of type DOMString
Specifies the namespace URI associated with this event, or null if the application wish to have no namespace.
typeArg of type DOMString
Specifies the event type.
canBubbleArg of type boolean
Specifies whether or not the event can bubble.
cancelableArg of type boolean
Specifies whether or not the event's default action can be prevented.
viewArg of type views::AbstractView
Specifies the Event's AbstractView.
detailArg of type long
Specifies the Event's mouse click count.
screenXArg of type long
Specifies the Event's screen x coordinate
screenYArg of type long
Specifies the Event's screen y coordinate
clientXArg of type long
Specifies the Event's client x coordinate
clientYArg of type long
Specifies the Event's client y coordinate
ctrlKeyArg of type boolean
Specifies whether or not control key was depressed during the Event.
altKeyArg of type boolean
Specifies whether or not alt key was depressed during the Event.
shiftKeyArg of type boolean
Specifies whether or not shift key was depressed during the Event.
metaKeyArg of type boolean
Specifies whether or not meta key was depressed during the Event.
buttonArg of type unsigned short
Specifies the Event's mouse button.
relatedTargetArg of type EventTarget
Specifies the Event's related EventTarget.
altGraphKeyArg of type boolean
Specifies whether or not alt graph key was depressed during the Event.
No Return Value
No Exceptions

The Mouse event types are listed below. For a full description of the semantics associated with these event types, refer to the Complete list of event types. In the case of nested elements, mouse event types are always targeted at the most deeply nested element. Ancestors of the targeted element may use bubbling to obtain notification of mouse events which occur within its descendent elements. A DOM application may use the hasFeature(feature, version) method of the DOMImplementation interface with parameter values "MouseEvents" and "3.0" (respectively) to determine whether or not the Mouse event module is supported by the implementation. In order to fully support this module, an implementation must also support the "UIEvents" feature defined in this specification. For additional information about conformance, please see the DOM Level 3 Core specification [DOM Level 3 Core]. The DOM Level 3 Mouse Events module is built on top of the DOM Level 2 Mouse Events [DOM Level 2 Events] module, i.e. a DOM Level 3 Mouse Events implementation where hasFeature("MouseEvents", "3.0") returns true must also return true when the version number is "2.0", "" or, null.

Event type Context information
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "click" MouseEvent.screenX, MouseEvent.screenY, MouseEvent.clientX, MouseEvent.clientY, MouseEvent.altKey, MouseEvent.ctrlKey, MouseEvent.shiftKey, MouseEvent.metaKey, MouseEvent.altGraphKey, MouseEvent.button, and UIEvent.view are in use. The UIEvent.detail attribute indicates the number of consecutive clicks of a pointing device button during a user action. The attribute value is 1 when the user begins this action and increments by 1 for each click. The notion of consecutive clicks depends on the environment configuration. For example, a "double click" will not happen if there is a long delay between the two clicks, even if the pointing device did not move.
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "mousedown" MouseEvent.screenX, MouseEvent.screenY, MouseEvent.clientX, MouseEvent.clientY, MouseEvent.altKey, MouseEvent.ctrlKey, MouseEvent.shiftKey, MouseEvent.metaKey, MouseEvent.altGraphKey, MouseEvent.button, and UIEvent.view are in use. The UIEvent.detail attribute indicates the number of consecutive clicks, incremented by one, of a pointing device button during a user action. For example, if no click happened before the mousedown, UIEvent.detail will contain the value 1.
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "mouseup" MouseEvent.screenX, MouseEvent.screenY, MouseEvent.clientX, MouseEvent.clientY, MouseEvent.altKey, MouseEvent.ctrlKey, MouseEvent.shiftKey, MouseEvent.metaKey, MouseEvent.altGraphKey, MouseEvent.button, and UIEvent.view are in use. The UIEvent.detail attribute indicates the number of consecutive clicks, incremented by one, of a pointing device button during a user action. For example, if no click happened before the mouseup, UIEvent.detail will contain the value 1. However, if no click is generated after the mouseup, UIEvent.detail contains the value 0, indicating that no click is occurring.
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "mouseover" MouseEvent.screenX, MouseEvent.screenY, MouseEvent.clientX, MouseEvent.clientY, MouseEvent.altKey, MouseEvent.ctrlKey, MouseEvent.shiftKey, MouseEvent.metaKey, MouseEvent.altGraphKey, and UIEvent.view are in use. MouseEvent.relatedTarget indicates the event target a pointing device is exiting.
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "mousemove" MouseEvent.screenX, MouseEvent.screenY, MouseEvent.clientX, MouseEvent.clientY, MouseEvent.altKey, MouseEvent.ctrlKey, MouseEvent.shiftKey, MouseEvent.metaKey, MouseEvent.altGraphKey, and UIEvent.view are in use.
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "mouseout" MouseEvent.screenX, MouseEvent.screenY, MouseEvent.clientX, MouseEvent.clientY, MouseEvent.altKey, MouseEvent.ctrlKey, MouseEvent.shiftKey, MouseEvent.metaKey, MouseEvent.altGraphKey, and UIEvent.view are in use. MouseEvent.relatedTarget indicates the event target a pointing device is entering.

As an example, a "double-click" on a mouse device will produce the following events (the value of UIEvent.detail is indicated in parenthesis):

  1. {"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "mousedown"} (1)
  2. {"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "mouseup"} (1)
  3. {"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "click"} (1)
  4. {"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "mousedown"} (2)
  5. {"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "mouseup"} (2)
  6. {"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "click"} (2)
(ED: plh -- I added this example above but didn't check if it is correct or not yet (do we have the click(1)?). If it is not, let me know in any case. I'll probably complicate the example a bit (with moves) to show how detail really works. )

1.7.4. Keyboard event types

Keyboard events are device dependent, i.e. they rely on the capabilities of the input devices and how they are mapped in the operating systems. It is therefore highly recommended to rely on Text events when dealing with characters.

Interface KeyboardEvent (introduced in DOM Level 3)

The KeyboardEvent interface provides specific contextual information associated with keyboard devices. Each keyboard event reference a key using an identifier.

Each modifier attribute (ctrlKey, shiftKey, altKey, metaKey, and altGraphKey) is activated when the key modifier is being pressed down or maintained pressed, i.e. the modifier attribute is not in use when the key modifier is being released.

Note: To create an instance of the KeyboardEvent interface, use the feature string "KeyboardEvent" as the value of the input parameter used with the DocumentEvent.createEvent method.


IDL Definition
// Introduced in DOM Level 3:
interface KeyboardEvent : UIEvent {

  // KeyLocationCode
  const unsigned long       DOM_KEY_LOCATION_STANDARD      = 0x00;
  const unsigned long       DOM_KEY_LOCATION_LEFT          = 0x01;
  const unsigned long       DOM_KEY_LOCATION_RIGHT         = 0x02;
  const unsigned long       DOM_KEY_LOCATION_NUMPAD        = 0x03;
  const unsigned long       DOM_KEY_LOCATION_UNKNOWN       = 0x04;

  readonly attribute DOMString       keyIdentifier;
  readonly attribute unsigned long   keyLocation;
  readonly attribute boolean         ctrlKey;
  readonly attribute boolean         shiftKey;
  readonly attribute boolean         altKey;
  readonly attribute boolean         metaKey;
  readonly attribute boolean         altGraphKey;
  void               initKeyboardEvent(in DOMString typeArg, 
                                       in boolean canBubbleArg, 
                                       in boolean cancelableArg, 
                                       in views::AbstractView viewArg, 
                                       in DOMString keyIdentifierArg, 
                                       in unsigned long keyLocationArg, 
                                       in boolean ctrlKeyArg, 
                                       in boolean shiftKeyArg, 
                                       in boolean altKeyArg, 
                                       in boolean metaKeyArg, 
                                       in boolean altGraphKeyArg);
  void               initKeyboardEventNS(in DOMString namespaceURI, 
                                         in DOMString type, 
                                         in boolean canBubbleArg, 
                                         in boolean cancelableArg, 
                                         in views::AbstractView viewArg, 
                                         in DOMString keyIdentifierArg, 
                                         in unsigned long keyLocationArg, 
                                         in boolean ctrlKeyArg, 
                                         in boolean shiftKeyArg, 
                                         in boolean altKeyArg, 
                                         in boolean metaKeyArg, 
                                         in boolean altGraphKeyArg);
};

Definition group KeyLocationCode
Defined Constants
DOM_KEY_LOCATION_LEFT
The key activated is in the left key location (there is more than one possible location for this key). Example: the left Shift key on a PC 101 Key US.
DOM_KEY_LOCATION_NUMPAD
The key activation originated on the numeric keypad or with a virtual key corresponding to the numeric keypad. Example: the '1' key on a PC 101 Key US.
DOM_KEY_LOCATION_RIGHT
The key activation is in the right key location (there is more than one possible location for this key). Example: the right Shift key on a PC 101 Key US.
DOM_KEY_LOCATION_STANDARD
The key activation is not distinguished as the left or right version of the key, and did not originate from the numeric keypad (or did not originate with a virtual key corresponding to the numeric keypad). Example: the 'Q' key on a PC 101 Key US.
DOM_KEY_LOCATION_UNKNOWN
Implementations can use this constant to indicate that the location of the key cannot be determined.

Note: In case a DOM implementation wishes to provide new location information, all values above the value of this constant can be used for that effect and generic DOM applications should consider values above the value of this constant as being equivalent to DOM_KEY_LOCATION_UNKNOWN.

Attributes
altGraphKey of type boolean, readonly
true if the alt-graph (Alt Gr) key modifier is activated.

Note: Some operating systems simulate the alt-graph key modifier with the combinaison of alt and ctrl key modifiers. Implementations are encouraged to use this modifier instead.

altKey of type boolean, readonly
true if the alt (alternative) key modifier is activated.
ctrlKey of type boolean, readonly
true if the control (Ctrl) key modifier is activated.
keyIdentifier of type DOMString, readonly
keyIdentifier holds the identifier of the key. For a list of possible values, refer to Key identifiers for keyboard events..

Note: Implementations that are unable to identify a key must use the key identifier "Unidentified".

keyLocation of type unsigned long, readonly
The keyLocation attribute contains an indication of the location of they key on the device.
metaKey of type boolean, readonly
true if the meta (Meta) key modifier is activated.

Note: The Command key modifier on Macintosh system must be represented using this key modifier.

shiftKey of type boolean, readonly
true if the shift (Shift) key modifier is activated.
Methods
initKeyboardEvent
The initKeyboardEvent method is used to initialize the value of a KeyboardEvent created using the DocumentEvent.createEvent method. This method may only be called before the KeyboardEvent has been dispatched via the EventTarget.dispatchEvent method, though it may be called multiple times before being dispatched if necessary. If called multiple times, the final invocation takes precedence. This method has no effect if called after the event has been dispatched.
Parameters
typeArg of type DOMString
Specifies the event type.
canBubbleArg of type boolean
Specifies whether or not the event can bubble. This parameter overrides the intrinsic bubbling behavior of the event.
cancelableArg of type boolean
Specifies whether or not the event's default action can be prevent. This parameter overrides the intrinsic cancelable behavior of the event.
viewArg of type views::AbstractView
Specifies the KeyboardEvent's AbstractView.
keyIdentifierArg of type DOMString
Specifies the KeyboardEvent's keyIdentifier attribute.
keyLocationArg of type unsigned long
Specifies the KeyboardEvent's keyLocation attribute.
ctrlKeyArg of type boolean
Specifies the KeyboardEvent's ctrlKey attribute.
shiftKeyArg of type boolean
Specifies the KeyboardEvent's shiftKey attribute.
altKeyArg of type boolean
Specifies the KeyboardEvent's altKey attribute.
metaKeyArg of type boolean
Specifies the KeyboardEvent's metaKey attribute.
altGraphKeyArg of type boolean
Specifies the KeyboardEvent's altGraphKey attribute.
No Return Value
No Exceptions
initKeyboardEventNS
The initKeyboardEventNS method is used to initialize the value of a KeyboardEvent created using the DocumentEvent.createEvent method. This method may only be called before the KeyboardEvent has been dispatched via the EventTarget.dispatchEvent method, though it may be called multiple times during that phase if necessary. If called multiple times, the final invocation takes precedence. This method has no effect if called after the event has been dispatched.
Parameters
namespaceURI of type DOMString
Specifies the namespace URI associated with this event, or null if the applications wish to have no namespace.
type of type DOMString
Specifies the event type.
canBubbleArg of type boolean
Specifies whether or not the event can bubble.
cancelableArg of type boolean
Specifies whether or not the event's default action can be prevent.
viewArg of type views::AbstractView
Specifies the KeyboardEvent's AbstractView.
keyIdentifierArg of type DOMString
Specifies the KeyboardEvent's keyIdentifier attribute
keyLocationArg of type unsigned long
Specifies the KeyboardEvent's keyLocation attribute.
ctrlKeyArg of type boolean
Specifies the KeyboardEvent's ctrlKey attribute.
shiftKeyArg of type boolean
Specifies the KeyboardEvent's shiftKey attribute.
altKeyArg of type boolean
Specifies the KeyboardEvent's altKey attribute.
metaKeyArg of type boolean
Specifies the KeyboardEvent's metaKey attribute.
altGraphKeyArg of type boolean
Specifies the KeyboardEvent's altGraphKey attribute.
No Return Value
No Exceptions

Depending on the character device generation system, keyboard events may or may not be generated.

The keyboard event types are listed below. For a full description of the semantics associated with these event types, refer to the Complete list of event types. A DOM application may use the hasFeature(feature, version) method of the DOMImplementation interface with parameter values "KeyboardEvents" and "3.0" (respectively) to determine whether or not the Keyboard event module is supported by the implementation. In order to fully support this module, an implementation must also support the "UIEvents" feature defined in this specification. For additional information about conformance, please see the DOM Level 3 Core specification [DOM Level 3 Core].

Event type Context information
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "keydown" UIEvent.view, KeyboardEvent.keyIdentifier, KeyboardEvent.location, KeyboardEvent.altKey, KeyboardEvent.altGraphKey, KeyboardEvent.shiftKey, KeyboardEvent.ctrlKey, and KeyboardEvent.metaKey are in use.
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "keyup" UIEvent.view, KeyboardEvent.keyIdentifier, and KeyboardEvent.location are in use. KeyboardEvent.altKey, KeyboardEvent.altGraphKey, KeyboardEvent.shiftKey, KeyboardEvent.ctrlKey, and KeyboardEvent.metaKey are in use unless the Keyboard.keyIdentifier corresponds to the key modifier itself.
Issue keyboard-1:
Should the cancellation of a keydown prevent the textInput/keyup event types from being dispatched?

1.7.5. Mutation and mutation name event types

The mutation and mutation name event modules are designed to allow notification of any changes to the structure of a document, including attribute, text, or name modifications. It may be noted that none of the event types associated with the modules are designated as cancelable. This stems from the fact that it is very difficult to make use of existing DOM interfaces which cause document modifications if any change to the document might or might not take place due to cancelation of the resulted event. Although this is still a desired capability, it was decided that it would be better left until the addition of transactions into the DOM.

Many single modifications of the tree can cause multiple mutation events to be dispatched. Rather than attempt to specify the ordering of mutation events due to every possible modification of the tree, the ordering of these events is left to the implementation.

Interface MutationEvent (introduced in DOM Level 2)

The MutationEvent interface provides specific contextual information associated with Mutation events.

Note: To create an instance of the MutationEvent interface, use the feature string "MutationEvent" as the value of the input parameter used with the DocumentEvent.createEvent method.


IDL Definition
// Introduced in DOM Level 2:
interface MutationEvent : Event {

  // attrChangeType
  const unsigned short      MODIFICATION                   = 1;
  const unsigned short      ADDITION                       = 2;
  const unsigned short      REMOVAL                        = 3;

  readonly attribute Node            relatedNode;
  readonly attribute DOMString       prevValue;
  readonly attribute DOMString       newValue;
  readonly attribute DOMString       attrName;
  readonly attribute unsigned short  attrChange;
  void               initMutationEvent(in DOMString typeArg, 
                                       in boolean canBubbleArg, 
                                       in boolean cancelableArg, 
                                       in Node relatedNodeArg, 
                                       in DOMString prevValueArg, 
                                       in DOMString newValueArg, 
                                       in DOMString attrNameArg, 
                                       in unsigned short attrChangeArg);
  // Introduced in DOM Level 3:
  void               initMutationEventNS(in DOMString namespaceURI, 
                                         in DOMString typeArg, 
                                         in boolean canBubbleArg, 
                                         in boolean cancelableArg, 
                                         in Node relatedNodeArg, 
                                         in DOMString prevValueArg, 
                                         in DOMString newValueArg, 
                                         in DOMString attrNameArg, 
                                         in unsigned short attrChangeArg);
};

Definition group attrChangeType

An integer indicating in which way the Attr was changed.

Defined Constants
ADDITION
The Attr was just added.
MODIFICATION
The Attr was modified in place.
REMOVAL
The Attr was just removed.
Attributes
attrChange of type unsigned short, readonly
attrChange indicates the type of change which triggered the DOMAttrModified event. The values can be MODIFICATION, ADDITION, or REMOVAL.
attrName of type DOMString, readonly
attrName indicates the name of the changed Attr node in a DOMAttrModified event.
newValue of type DOMString, readonly
newValue indicates the new value of the Attr node in DOMAttrModified events, and of the CharacterData node in DOMCharacterDataModified events.
prevValue of type DOMString, readonly
prevValue indicates the previous value of the Attr node in DOMAttrModified events, and of the CharacterData node in DOMCharacterDataModified events.
relatedNode of type Node, readonly
relatedNode is used to identify a secondary node related to a mutation event. For example, if a mutation event is dispatched to a node indicating that its parent has changed, the relatedNode is the changed parent. If an event is instead dispatched to a subtree indicating a node was changed within it, the relatedNode is the changed node. In the case of the DOMAttrModified event it indicates the Attr node which was modified, added, or removed.
Methods
initMutationEvent
The initMutationEvent method is used to initialize the value of a MutationEvent created using the DocumentEvent.createEvent method. This method may only be called before the MutationEvent has been dispatched via the EventTarget.dispatchEvent method, though it may be called multiple times before being dispatched if necessary. If called multiple times, the final invocation takes precedence.
Parameters
typeArg of type DOMString
Specifies the event type.
canBubbleArg of type boolean
Specifies whether or not the event can bubble. This parameter overrides the intrinsic bubbling behavior of the event.
cancelableArg of type boolean
Specifies whether or not the event's default action can be prevented. This parameter overrides the intrinsic cancelable behavior of the event.
relatedNodeArg of type Node
Specifies the Event's related Node.
prevValueArg of type DOMString
Specifies the Event's prevValue attribute. This value may be null.
newValueArg of type DOMString
Specifies the Event's newValue attribute. This value may be null.
attrNameArg of type DOMString
Specifies the Event's attrName attribute. This value may be null.
attrChangeArg of type unsigned short
Specifies the Event's attrChange attribute.
No Return Value
No Exceptions
initMutationEventNS introduced in DOM Level 3
The initMutationEventNS method is used to initialize the value of a MutationEvent created using the DocumentEvent.createEvent method. This method may only be called before the MutationEvent has been dispatched via the EventTarget.dispatchEvent method, though it may be called multiple times during that phase if necessary. If called multiple times, the final invocation takes precedence.
Parameters
namespaceURI of type DOMString
Specifies the namespace URI associated with this event, or null if the application wish to have no namespace.
typeArg of type DOMString
Specifies the event type.
canBubbleArg of type boolean
Specifies whether or not the event can bubble.
cancelableArg of type boolean
Specifies whether or not the event's default action can be prevented.
relatedNodeArg of type Node
Specifies the Event's related Node.
prevValueArg of type DOMString
Specifies the Event's prevValue attribute. This value may be null.
newValueArg of type DOMString
Specifies the Event's newValue attribute. This value may be null.
attrNameArg of type DOMString
Specifies the Event's attrName attribute. This value may be null.
attrChangeArg of type unsigned short
Specifies the Event's attrChange attribute.
No Return Value
No Exceptions

The mutation event types are listed below. For a full description of the semantics associated with these event types, refer to the Complete list of event types. A DOM application may use the hasFeature(feature, version) method of the DOMImplementation interface with parameter values "MutationEvents" and "3.0" (respectively) to determine whether or not the MutationEvent is supported by the implementation. In order to fully support this module, an implementation must also support the "Events" feature defined in this specification. For additional information about conformance, please see the DOM Level 3 Core specification [DOM Level 3 Core]. This MutationEvent interface is built on top of the DOM Level 2 Mutation Events [DOM Level 2 Events] module, i.e. a DOM Level 3 MutationEvent interface implementation where hasFeature("MutationEvents","3.0") returns true must also return true when the version number is "2.0", "" or, null.

Event type Context information
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "DOMSubtreeModified" None
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "DOMNodeInserted" MutationEvent.relatedNode holds the parent node of the node being inserted.
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "DOMNodeRemoved" MutationEvent.relatedNode holds the parent node of the node being removed.
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "DOMNodeRemovedFromDocument" None
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "DOMNodeInsertedIntoDocument" None
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "DOMAttrModified" MutationEvent.attrName is in use. The value of MutationEvent.relatedNode indicates the Attr node whose value has been affected. The value of MutationEvent.attrChange indicates whether the Attr was modified, added, or removed. If the Attr node is being added, MutationEvent.newValue is in use. If the Attr node is being removed, MutationEvent.prevValue is in value. If the Attr node is being modified, MutationEvent.newValue and MutationEvent.prevValue are in use.
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "DOMCharacterDataModified" MutationEvent.prevValue, and MutationEvent.newValue are in use.
Interface MutationNameEvent (introduced in DOM Level 3)

The MutationNameEvent interface provides specific contextual information associated with Mutation name event types.

Note: To create an instance of the MutationNameEvent interface, use the feature string "MutationNameEvent" as the value of the input parameter used with the createEvent method of the DocumentEvent interface.


IDL Definition
// Introduced in DOM Level 3:
interface MutationNameEvent : MutationEvent {
  readonly attribute DOMString       prevNamespaceURI;
  readonly attribute DOMString       prevNodeName;
  // Introduced in DOM Level 3:
  void               initMutationNameEvent(in DOMString typeArg, 
                                           in boolean canBubbleArg, 
                                           in boolean cancelableArg, 
                                           in Node relatedNodeArg, 
                                           in DOMString prevNamespaceURI, 
                                           in DOMString prevNodeName);
  // Introduced in DOM Level 3:
  void               initMutationNameEventNS(in DOMString namespaceURI, 
                                             in DOMString typeArg, 
                                             in boolean canBubbleArg, 
                                             in boolean cancelableArg, 
                                             in Node relatedNodeArg, 
                                             in DOMString prevNamespaceURI, 
                                             in DOMString prevNodeName);
};

Attributes
prevNamespaceURI of type DOMString, readonly
The previous value of the relatedNode's namespaceURI.
prevNodeName of type DOMString, readonly
The previous value of the relatedNode's nodeName.
Methods
initMutationNameEvent introduced in DOM Level 3
The initMutationNameEvent method is used to initialize the value of a MutationNameEvent created using the DocumentEvent.createEvent method. This method may only be called before the MutationNameEvent has been dispatched via the EventTarget.dispatchEvent method, though it may be called multiple times during that phase if necessary. If called multiple times, the final invocation takes precedence.
Parameters
typeArg of type DOMString
Specifies the event type.
canBubbleArg of type boolean
Specifies whether or not the event can bubble.
cancelableArg of type boolean
Specifies whether or not the event's default action can be prevented.
relatedNodeArg of type Node
Specifies the Event's related Node.
prevNamespaceURI of type DOMString
Specifies the previous namespaceURI of the related Node. This value may be null.
prevNodeName of type DOMString
Specifies the previous nodeName of the related Node.
No Return Value
No Exceptions
initMutationNameEventNS introduced in DOM Level 3
The initMutationNameEventNS method is used to initialize the value of a MutationNameEvent created using the DocumentEvent.createEvent method. This method may only be called before the MutationNameEvent has been dispatched via the EventTarget.dispatchEvent method, though it may be called multiple times during that phase if necessary. If called multiple times, the final invocation takes precedence.
Parameters
namespaceURI of type DOMString
Specifies the namespace URI associated with this event, or null if the application wish to have no namespace.
typeArg of type DOMString
Specifies the event type.
canBubbleArg of type boolean
Specifies whether or not the event can bubble.
cancelableArg of type boolean
Specifies whether or not the event's default action can be prevented.
relatedNodeArg of type Node
Specifies the Event's related Node.
prevNamespaceURI of type DOMString
Specifies the previous namespaceURI of the related Node. This value may be null.
prevNodeName of type DOMString
Specifies the previous nodeName of the related Node.
No Return Value
No Exceptions

The mutation name event types are listed below. For a full description of the semantics associated with these event types, refer to the Complete list of event types. A DOM application may use the hasFeature(feature, version) method of the DOMImplementation interface with parameter values "MutationNameEvents" and "3.0" (respectively) to determine whether or not the MutationNameEvent is supported by the implementation. In order to fully support this module, an implementation must also support the "MutationEvents" feature defined in this specification and the "Core" feature defined in the DOM Level 3 Core specification [DOM Level 3 Core]. For additional information about conformance, please see the DOM Level 3 Core specification [DOM Level 3 Core].

Event type Context information
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "DOMElementNameChanged" MutationNameEvent.prevNamespaceURI, and MutationNameEvent.prevNodeName are in use.
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "DOMAttributeNameChanged" MutationNameEvent.prevNamespaceURI, and MutationNameEvent.prevNodeName are in use. The value of MutationEvent.relatedNode contains the renamed Attr node.

1.7.6. Basic event types

This event module contains basic event types associated with document manipulation.

A DOM application may use the hasFeature(feature, version) method of the DOMImplementation interface with parameter values "BasicEvents" and "3.0" (respectively) to determine whether or not the basic event module is supported by the implementation. In order to fully support this module, an implementation must also support the "Events" feature defined in this specification. For additional information about conformance, please see the DOM Level 3 Core specification [DOM Level 3 Core].

The basic event types are listed below. For a full description of the semantics associated with these event types, refer to the Complete list of event types.

The event types {"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "resize"} and {"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "scroll"} implement the UIEvent interface. All other HTML event types implement at least the basic Event interface. However, they may be generated from a user interface; in that case, the event objects also implements the UIEvent interface and UIEvent.view is in use.

Event type Context information
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "load" UIEvent.view may be in use.
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "unload" (same as above)
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "abort" (same as above)
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "error" (same as above)
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "select" (same as above)
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "change" (same as above)
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "submit" (same as above)
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "reset" (same as above)
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "resize" UIEvent.view is in use.
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "scroll" UIEvent.view is in use.

1.7.7. HTML Events

The HTML event module is composed of events listed in [HTML 4.01] and additional events which are supported in DOM Level 0 browsers. It refines the semantics and scope of the basic event types and provides two new event types. This event module is only applicable if the Document supports the [DOM Level 2 HTML] specification. Use Node.isSupported(feature, version) with the parameter values "HTML" and "2.0" (respectively) to determine whether or not the Document node supported the HTML module.

A DOM application may use the hasFeature(feature, version) method of the DOMImplementation interface with parameter values "HTMLEvents" and "3.0" (respectively) to determine whether or not the HTML event module is supported by the implementation. In order to fully support this module, an implementation must also support the "BasicEvents" feature defined in this specification and the "HTML" feature defined in [DOM Level 2 HTML]. For additional information about conformance, please see the DOM Level 3 Core specification [DOM Level 3 Core]. The DOM Level 3 HTML Events module is built on top of the DOM Level 2 HTML Events [DOM Level 2 Events] module, i.e. a DOM Level 3 HTML Events implementation where hasFeature("HTMLEvents", "3.0") returns true must also return true when the version number is "2.0", "" or, null.

Event type Description Target node
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "load" The DOM implementation finishes loading all content within the BODY element, all frames within a FRAMESET, or any resource linked from the document. HTMLBodyElement, HTMLFrameSetElement, HTMLObjectElement, HTMLLinkElement, HTMLMetaElement, HTMLScriptElement, HTMLFrameElement, HTMLIFrameElement, HTMLImageElement
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "unload" The DOM implementation removes a document from a window or frame. This event is valid for BODY and FRAMESET elements. HTMLBodyElement, HTMLFrameSetElement
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "abort" The page loading is stopped before an image has been allowed to completely load. This event applies to OBJECT elements. HTMLObjectElement
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "error" An image does not load properly or when an error occurs during script execution. This event is valid for OBJECT elements, BODY elements, and FRAMESET element. HTMLObjectElement, HTMLBodyElement, HTMLFrameSetElement
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "select" A user selects some text in a text field either via the user interface or via attributes defined in [DOM Level 2 HTML]. This event is valid for INPUT and TEXTAREA elements. HTMLInputElement, HTMLTextAreaElement
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "change" A control loses the input focus and its value has been modified since gaining focus. This event can occur either via a user interface manipulation or the focus() methods and the attributes defined in [DOM Level 2 HTML]. This event is valid for INPUT, SELECT, and TEXTAREA element. HTMLInputElement, HTMLSelectElement, HTMLTextAreaElement
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "submit" A form is submitted either via a button. This event only applies to the FORM element. Note that the HTMLFormElement.submit() method defined in [DOM Level 2 HTML] does not fire this event type. HTMLFormElement
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "reset" A form is reset either via a button, or the HTMLFormElement.reset() method defined in [DOM Level 2 HTML]. This event only applies to the FORM element. HTMLFormElement
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "resize" A document view is resized. HTMLDocument
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "scroll" A document view is scrolled. HTMLDocument

The following new event types are defined:

Event type Description Bubbling phase Cancelable Target node DOM interface
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "focus" An element receives focus either via a pointing device, the focus() methods defined in [DOM Level 2 HTML], or by tabbing navigation. This event is only valid for the following elements: A, AREA, LABEL, INPUT, SELECT, TEXTAREA, and BUTTON. This event type is dispatched after the event type {"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "DOMFocusIn"}. No No HTMLAnchorElement, HTMLAreaElement, HTMLLabelElement, HTMLInputElement, HTMLSelectElement, HTMLtextAreaElement, HTMLButtonElement. Event
"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "blur" An element loses focus either via a pointing device, the blur() methods defined in [DOM Level 2 HTML], or by tabbing navigation. This event is only valid for the following elements: A, AREA, LABEL, INPUT, SELECT, TEXTAREA, and BUTTON. This event type is dispatched after the event type {"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "DOMFocusOut"}. No No HTMLAnchorElement, HTMLAreaElement, HTMLLabelElement, HTMLInputElement, HTMLSelectElement, HTMLtextAreaElement, HTMLButtonElement. Event

The event types {"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "focus"} and {"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "blur"} may be generated from a user interface; in that case, the event objects also implements the UIEvent interface and UIEvent.view is in use.

1.7.7.1. Activation and default actions

The concept of activation ({"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "DOMActivate"}) was introduced in [DOM Level 2 Events] to separate generic actions from the devices used to activate them. For example, an hyperlink can be activated using a mouse or a keyboard, and the activation will force the user agent to follow the link. It is expected that the action of following the link is done using a default action attached to the hyperlink element. In such case, the default action of the device event type is to trigger the event type {"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "DOMActivate"}. Preventing the default action of a mouse click when the target node is an hyperlink will prevent the activation. The same approach is made for control elements.

If a change is made before the activation, cancelling the device event type will also reverse the change. A good example is the attribute HTMLInputElement.checked. As described in [DOM Level 2 HTML], the value of this property may be changed before the dispatch of the event: the user clicks on the radio button, the radio button is being checked (or unchecked) on the display, the attribute HTMLInputElement.checked is changed as well, and then the device event type {"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "click"} is being dispatched. If the default action of the device event type is prevented, or if the default action attached to the {"http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events", "DOMActivate"} event type is prevented, the value of the property will need to be changed back to its original value.