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CR-DOM-Level-2-19991210

6. Document Object Model Events

Editors
Tom Pixley, Netscape Communications Corporation

Table of contents

6.1. Overview of the DOM Level 2 Event Model

The DOM Level 2 Event Model is designed with two main goals. The first goal is the design of a generic event system which allows registration of event handlers, describes event flow through a tree structure, and provides basic contextual information for each event. Additionally, the specification will provide standard sets of events for user interface control and document mutation notifications, including defined contextual information for each of these event sets.

The second goal of the event model 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 Event Model specification define both the specification for the DOM Event Model and a number of compliant event sets designed for use within the model. The Event Model consists of the two sections on event propagation and event listener registration and the Event interface. A DOM consumer can use the hasFeature of the DOMImplementation interface to determine whether the Event Model has been implemented by a DOM implementation. The feature string for the Event Model is "Events". The existence within an implementation of each of the individual event sets can also be queried using the hasFeature method. Each event set describes its own feature string in the event set listing.

6.1.1. Terminology

UI events
User interface events. These events are generated by user interaction through an external device (mouse, keyboard, etc.)
UI Logical events
Device independent user interface events such as focus change messages or element triggering notifications.
Mutation events
Events caused by any action which modifies the structure of the document.
Capturing
The process by which an event can be handled by one of the event's target's ancestors before being handled by the event's target.
Bubbling
The process by which an event propagates upward through its ancestors after being handled by the event's target.
Cancelable
A designation for events which indicates that upon handling the event the client may choose to prevent the DOM implementation from processing any default action associated with the event.

6.2. Description of event flow

Event flow is the process through which the an event originates from the DOM implementation and is passed into the Document Object Model. The methods of event capture and event bubbling, along with various event listener registration techniques, allow the event to then be handled in a number of ways. It can be handled locally at the EventTarget level or centrally from an EventTarget higher in the document tree.

6.2.1. Basic event flow

Each event has an EventTarget toward which the event is directed by the DOM implementation. This EventTarget is specified in the Event's target attribute. When the event reaches the target, any event listeners registered on the EventTarget are triggered. Although all EventListeners on the EventTarget are guaranteed to be triggered by any event which is received by that EventTarget, no specification is made as to the order in which they will receive the event with regards to the other EventListeners on the EventTarget. If neither event capture or event bubbling are in use for that particular event, the event flow process will complete after all listeners have been triggered. If event capture or event bubbling is in use, the event flow will be modified as described in the sections below.

Any exceptions thrown inside an EventListener will not stop propagation of the event. It will continue processing any additional EventListener in the described manner.

It is expected that actions taken by EventListeners may cause additional events to fire. Additional events should be handled in a synchronous manner and may cause reentrancy into the event model.

6.2.2. Event capture

Event capture is the process by which an EventListener registered on an ancestor of the event's target can intercept events of a given type before they are received by the event's target. Capture operates from the top of the tree, generally the Document, downward, making it the symmetrical opposite of bubbling which is described below. The chain of EventTargets from the top of the tree to the event's target is determined before the initial dispatch of the event. If modifications occur to the tree during event processing, event flow will proceed based on the initial state of the tree.

An EventListener being registered on an EventTarget may choose to have that EventListener capture events by specifying the useCapture parameter of the addEventListener method to be true. Thereafter, when an event of the given type is dispatched toward a descendant of the capturing object, the event will trigger any capturing event listeners of the appropriate type which exist in the direct line between the top of the document and the event's target. This downward propagation continues until the event's target is reached. A capturing EventListener will not be triggered by events dispatched directly to the EventTarget upon which it is registered.

If the capturing EventListener wishes to prevent further processing of the event from occurring it may call the stopProgagation method of the Event interface. This will prevent further dispatch of the event, although additional EventListeners registered at the same hierarchy level will still receive the event. Once an event's stopPropagation method has been called, further calls to that method have no additional effect. If no additional capturers exist and stopPropagation has not been called, the event triggers the appropriate EventListeners on the target itself.

Although event capture is similar to the delegation based event model in which all interested parties register their listeners directly on the target about which they wish to receive notifications, it is different in two important respects. First, event capture only allows interception of events which are targeted at descendants of the capturing EventTarget. It does not allow interception of events targeted to the capturer's ancestors, its siblings, or its sibling's descendants. Secondly, event capture is not specified for a single EventTarget, it is specified for a specific type of event. Once specified, event capture intercepts all events of the specified type targeted toward any of the capturer's descendants.

6.2.3. Event bubbling

Events which are designated as bubbling will initially proceed with the same event flow as non-bubbling events. The event is dispatched to its target EventTarget and any event listeners found there are triggered. Bubbling events will then trigger any additional event listeners found by following the EventTarget's parent chain upward, checking for any event listeners registered on each successive EventTarget. This upward propagation will continue up to and including the Document. EventListeners registered as capturers will not be triggered during this phase. The chain of EventTargets from the event target to the top of the tree is determined before the initial dispatch of the event. If modifications occur to the tree during event processing, event flow will proceed based on the initial state of the tree.

Any event handler may choose to prevent further event propagation by calling the stopPropagation method of the Event interface. If any EventListener calls this method, all additional EventListeners on the current EventTarget will be triggered but bubbling will cease at that level. Only one call to stopPropagation is required to prevent further bubbling.

6.2.4. Event cancelation

Some events are specified as cancelable. For these events, the DOM implementation generally has a default action associated with the event. An example of this is a hyperlink in a web browser. When the user clicks on the hyperlink the default action is generally to active that hyperlink. Before processing these events, the implementation must check for event listeners registered to receive the event and dispatch the event to those listeners. These listeners then have the option of canceling the implementation's 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.

Cancelation is accomplished by calling the Event's preventDefault method. If one or more EventListeners call preventDefault during any phase of event flow the default action will be canceled.

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

6.3. Event listener registration

6.3.1. Event registration interfaces

Interface EventTarget (introduced in DOM Level 2)

The EventTarget interface is implemented by all Nodes in an implementation which supports the DOM Event Model. The interface allows registration and removal of EventListeners on an EventTarget and dispatch of events to that EventTarget.


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);
  boolean            dispatchEvent(in Event evt)
                                        raises(EventException);
};

Methods
addEventListener
This method allows the registration of event listeners on the event target. If an EventListener is added to an EventTarget which is currently processing an event the new listener will not be triggered by the current event.
If multiple identical EventListeners are registered on the same EventTarget with the same parameters the duplicate instances are discarded. They do not cause the EventListener to be called twice and since they are discarded they do not need to be removed with the removeEventListener method.
Parameters

DOMString

type

The event type for which the user is registering

EventListener

listener

The listener parameter takes an interface implemented by the user which contains the methods to be called when the event occurs.

boolean

useCapture

If true, useCapture indicates that the user wishes to initiate capture. After initiating capture, all events of the specified type will be dispatched to the registered EventListener before being dispatched to any EventTargets beneath them in the tree. Events which are bubbling upward through the tree will not trigger an EventListener designated to use capture.

No Return Value
No Exceptions

removeEventListener
This method allows the removal of event listeners from the event target. If an EventListener is removed from an EventTarget while it is processing an event, it will complete its current actions but will not be triggered again during any later stages of event flow.
If an EventListener is removed from an EventTarget which is currently processing an event the removed listener will still be triggered by the current event.
Calling removeEventListener with arguments which do not identify any currently registered EventListener on the EventTarget has no effect.
Parameters

DOMString

type

Specifies the event type of the EventListener being removed.

EventListener

listener

The EventListener parameter indicates the EventListener to be removed.

boolean

useCapture

Specifies whether the EventListener being removed was registered as a capturing listener or not. If a listener was registered twice, one with capture and one without, each must be removed separately. Removal of a capturing listener does not affect a non-capturing version of the same listener, and vice versa.

No Return Value
No Exceptions

dispatchEvent
This method allows the dispatch of events into the implementations event model. Events dispatched in this manner will have the same capturing and bubbling behavior as events dispatched directly by the implementation. The target of the event is the EventTarget on which dispatchEvent is called.
Parameters

Event

evt

Specifies the event type, behavior, and contextual information to be used in processing the event.

Return Value

boolean

The return value of dispatchEvent indicates whether any of the listeners which handled the event called preventDefault. If preventDefault was called the value is false, else the value is true.

Exceptions

EventException

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

Interface EventListener (introduced in DOM Level 2)

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


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 type for which the EventListener interface was registered.
Parameters

Event

evt

The Event contains contextual information about the event. It also contains the stopPropagation and preventDefault methods which are used in determining the event's flow and default action.

No Return Value
No Exceptions

6.3.2. Interaction with HTML 4.0 event listeners

In HTML 4.0, event listeners were specified as attributes of an element. As such, registration of a second event listener of the same type would replace the first listener. The DOM Event Model allows registration of multiple event listeners on a single Node. To achieve this, event listeners are no longer stored as attribute values.

In order to achieve compatibility with HTML 4.0, implementors may view the setting of attributes which represent event handlers as the creation and registration of an EventListener on the Node. 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. No technique is provided to allow HTML 4.0 event listeners access to the context information defined for each event.

6.4. Event interface

Interface Event (introduced in DOM Level 2)

The Event interface is used to provide contextual information about an event to the handler processing the event. An object which implements the Event interface is generally passed as the first parameter to an event handler. More specific context information is passed to event handlers by deriving additional interfaces from Event which contain information directly relating to the type of event they accompany. 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 Node             currentNode;
  readonly attribute unsigned short   eventPhase;
  readonly attribute boolean          bubbles;
  readonly attribute boolean          cancelable;
  void               stopPropagation();
  void               preventDefault();
  void               initEvent(in DOMString eventTypeArg, 
                               in boolean canBubbleArg, 
                               in boolean cancelableArg);
};

Definition group PhaseType

An integer indicating which phase of event flow is being processed.

Defined Constants
CAPTURING_PHASE The current event phase is the capturing phase.
AT_TARGET The event is currently being evaluated at the target node.
BUBBLING_PHASE The current event phase is the bubbling phase.
Attributes
type of type DOMString, readonly
The type property represents the event name as a string property. The string must be an XML name.

target of type EventTarget, readonly
The target property indicates the EventTarget to which the event was originally dispatched.

currentNode of type Node, readonly
The currentNode property indicates the Node whose EventListeners are currently being processed. This is particularly useful during capturing and bubbling.

eventPhase of type unsigned short, readonly
The eventPhase property indicates which phase of event flow is currently being evaluated.

bubbles of type boolean, readonly
The bubbles property indicates whether or not an event is a bubbling event. If the event can bubble the value is true, else the value is false.

cancelable of type boolean, readonly
The cancelable property indicates whether or not an event can have its default action prevented. If the default action can be prevented the value is true, else the value is false.

Methods
stopPropagation
The stopPropagation method is used prevent further propagation of an event during event flow. If this method is called by any EventListener the event will cease propagating through the tree. The event will complete dispatch to all listeners on the current EventTarget before event flow stops. This method may be used during any stage of event flow.
No Parameters
No Return Value
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. If, during any stage of event flow, the preventDefault method is called the event is canceled. Any default action associated with the event will not occur. Calling this method for a non-cancelable event has no effect. Once preventDefault has been called it will remain in effect throughout the remainder of the event's propagation. This method may be used during any stage of event flow.
No Parameters
No Return Value
No Exceptions

initEvent
The initEvent 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 during that phase if necessary. If called multiple times the final invocation takes precedence. If called from a subclass of Event interface only the values specified in the initEvent method are modified, all other properties are left unchanged.
Parameters

DOMString

eventTypeArg

Specifies the event type. This type may be any event type currently defined in this specification or a new event type.. The string must be an XML name.

Any new event type must not begin with any upper, lower, or mixed case version of the string "DOM". This prefix is reserved for future DOM event sets.

boolean

canBubbleArg

Specifies whether or not the event can bubble.

boolean

cancelableArg

Specifies whether or not the event's default action can be prevented.

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;

Definition group EventExceptionCode

An integer indicating the type of error generated.

Defined Constants
UNSPECIFIED_EVENT_TYPE_ERR If the Event's type was not specified by initializing the event before the method was called. Specification of the Event's type as null or an empty string will also trigger this exception.

6.5. DocumentEvent interface

Interface DocumentEvent (introduced in DOM Level 2)

The DocumentEvent interface provides a mechanism by which the user can create an Event 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);
};

Methods
createEvent
Parameters

DOMString

eventType

The eventType parameter specifies the type of Event interface to be created. If the Event interface specified is supported by the implementation this method will return a new Event of the interface type requested. If the Event is to be dispatched via the 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 createEvent with the parameter "UIEvent". The initUIEvent method could then be called on the newly created UIEvent to set the specific type of UIEvent to be dispatched and set its context information.

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 dispatchEvent method.

Return Value

Event

The newly created Event

Exceptions

DOMException

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

6.6. Event set definitions

The DOM Level 2 Event Model allows a DOM implementation to support multiple sets of events. The model has been designed to allow addition of new event sets as is required. The DOM will not attempt to define all possible events. For purposes of interoperability, the DOM will define a set of user interface events including lower level device dependent events, a set of UI logical events, and a set of document mutation events.

6.6.1. User Interface event types

The User Interface event set is composed of events listed in HTML 4.0 and additional events which are supported in DOM Level 0 browsers.

A DOM consumer can use the hasFeature of the DOMImplementation interface to determine whether the User Interface event set has been implemented by a DOM implementation. The feature string for this event set is "UIEvents". This string is also used with the createEvent method.

Interface UIEvent (introduced in DOM Level 2)

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


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);
};

Attributes
view of type views::AbstractView, readonly
The view attribute identifies the AbstractView from which the event was generated.

detail of type long, readonly
Specifies some detail information about the Event, depending on the type of event.

Methods
initUIEvent
The initUIEvent method is used to initialize the value of a UIEvent created through the DocumentEvent interface. This method may only be called before the UIEvent has been dispatched via the dispatchEvent method, though it may be called multiple times during that phase if necessary. If called multiple times, the final invocation takes precedence.
Parameters

DOMString

typeArg

Specifies the event type.

boolean

canBubbleArg

Specifies whether or not the event can bubble.

boolean

cancelableArg

Specifies whether or not the event's default action can be prevented.

views::AbstractView

viewArg

Specifies the Event's AbstractView.

long

detailArg

Specifies the Event's detail.

No Return Value
No Exceptions

The different types of such events that can occur are:

DOMFocusIn
The focusin event occurs when a node receives focus, for instance via a pointing device being moved onto an element or by tabbing navigation to the element. Unlike the HTML event focus, focusin can be applied to any node, not just FORM controls.
  • Bubbles: Yes
  • Cancelable: No
  • Context Info: None
DOMFocusOut
The focusout event occurs when a node loses focus, for instance via a pointing device being moved out of an element or by tabbing navigation out of the element. Unlike the HTML event blur, focusout can be applied to any node, not just FORM controls.
  • Bubbles: Yes
  • Cancelable: No
  • Context Info: None
DOMActivate
The activate event occurs when an element is activated, for instance, thru a mouse click or a keypress. A numerical argument is provided to give an indication of the type of activation that occurs: 1 for a simple activation (e.g. a simple click or Enter), 2 for hyperactivation (for instance a double click or Shift Enter).
  • Bubbles: Yes
  • Cancelable: Yes
  • Context Info: detail (the numerical value)

6.6.2. Mouse event types

The Mouse event set is composed of events listed in HTML 4.0 and additional events which are supported in DOM Level 0 browsers. This event set is specifically designed for use with mouse input devices.

A DOM consumer can use the hasFeature of the DOMImplementation interface to determine whether the User Interface event set has been implemented by a DOM implementation. The feature string for this event set is "MouseEvents". This string is also used with the createEvent method.

Interface MouseEvent (introduced in DOM Level 2)

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

The detail attribute inherited from UIEvent indicates the number of times a mouse button has been pressed and released over the same screen location during a user action. The attribute value is 1 when the user begins this action and increments by 1 for each full sequence of pressing and releasing. If the user moves the mouse between the mousedown and mouseup the value will be set to 0, indicating that no click is occurring.

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.


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 Node             relatedNode;
  void               initMouseEvent(in DOMString typeArg, 
                                    in boolean canBubbleArg, 
                                    in boolean cancelableArg, 
                                    in views::AbstractView viewArg, 
                                    in unsigned short 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 Node relatedNodeArg);
};

Attributes
screenX of type long, readonly
screenX indicates the horizontal coordinate at which the event occurred relative to the origin of the screen coordinate system.

screenY of type long, readonly
screenY indicates the vertical coordinate at which the event occurred relative to the origin of the screen coordinate system.

clientX of type long, readonly
clientX indicates the horizontal coordinate at which the event occurred relative to the DOM implementation's client area.

clientY of type long, readonly
clientY indicates the vertical coordinate at which the event occurred relative to the DOM implementation's client area.

ctrlKey of type boolean, readonly
ctrlKey indicates whether the 'ctrl' key was depressed during the firing of the event.

shiftKey of type boolean, readonly
shiftKey indicates whether the 'shift' key was depressed during the firing of the event.

altKey of type boolean, readonly
altKey indicates whether the 'alt' key was depressed during the firing of the event. On some platforms this key may map to an alternative key name.

metaKey of type boolean, readonly
metaKey indicates whether the 'meta' key was depressed during the firing of the event. On some platforms this key may map to an alternative key name.

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. The values for button range from zero to indicate the left button of the mouse, one to indicate the middle button if present, and two to indicate the right button. For mice configured for left handed use in which the button actions are reversed the values are instead read from right to left.

relatedNode of type Node, readonly
relatedNode is used to identify a secondary node related to a UI event. Currently this property is used with the mouseover event to indicate the Node which the pointing device exited and with the mouseout event to indicate the Node which the pointing device entered.

Methods
initMouseEvent
The initMouseEvent method is used to initialize the value of a MouseEvent created through the DocumentEvent interface. This method may only be called before the MouseEvent has been dispatched via the dispatchEvent method, though it may be called multiple times during that phase if necessary. If called multiple times, the final invocation takes precedence.
Parameters

DOMString

typeArg

Specifies the event type.

boolean

canBubbleArg

Specifies whether or not the event can bubble.

boolean

cancelableArg

Specifies whether or not the event's default action can be prevented.

views::AbstractView

viewArg

Specifies the Event's AbstractView.

unsigned short

detailArg

Specifies the Event's mouse click count.

long

screenXArg

Specifies the Event's screen x coordinate

long

screenYArg

Specifies the Event's screen y coordinate

long

clientXArg

Specifies the Event's client x coordinate

long

clientYArg

Specifies the Event's client y coordinate

boolean

ctrlKeyArg

Specifies whether or not control key was depressed during the Event.

boolean

altKeyArg

Specifies whether or not alt key was depressed during the Event.

boolean

shiftKeyArg

Specifies whether or not shift key was depressed during the Event.

boolean

metaKeyArg

Specifies whether or not meta key was depressed during the Event.

unsigned short

buttonArg

Specifies the Event's mouse button.

Node

relatedNodeArg

Specifies the Event's related Node.

No Return Value
No Exceptions

The different types of Mouse events that can occur are:

click
The click event occurs when the pointing device button is clicked over an element. A click is defined as a mousedown and mouseup over the same screen location. The sequence of these events is:
    mousedown
    mouseup
    click
    
If multiple clicks occur at the same screen location, the sequence repeats with the detail attribute incrementing with each repetition. This event is valid for most elements.
  • Bubbles: Yes
  • Cancelable: Yes
  • Context Info: screenX, screenY, clientX, clientY, altKey, ctrlKey, shiftKey, metaKey, button, detail
mousedown
The mousedown event occurs when the pointing device button is pressed over an element. This event is valid for most elements.
  • Bubbles: Yes
  • Cancelable: Yes
  • Context Info: screenX, screenY, clientX, clientY, altKey, ctrlKey, shiftKey, metaKey, button, detail
mouseup
The mouseup event occurs when the pointing device button is released over an element. This event is valid for most elements.
  • Bubbles: Yes
  • Cancelable: Yes
  • Context Info: screenX, screenY, clientX, clientY, altKey, ctrlKey, shiftKey, metaKey, button, detail
mouseover
The mouseover event occurs when the pointing device is moved onto an element. This event is valid for most elements.
  • Bubbles: Yes
  • Cancelable: Yes
  • Context Info: screenX, screenY, clientX, clientY, altKey, ctrlKey, shiftKey, metaKey, relatedNode indicates the Node the pointing device is exiting.
mousemove
The mousemove event occurs when the pointing device is moved while it is over an element. This event is valid for most elements.
  • Bubbles: Yes
  • Cancelable: No
  • Context Info: screenX, screenY, clientX, clientY, altKey, ctrlKey, shiftKey, metaKey
mouseout
The mouseout event occurs when the pointing device is moved away from an element. This event is valid for most elements..
  • Bubbles: Yes
  • Cancelable: Yes
  • Context Info: screenX, screenY, clientX, clientY, altKey, ctrlKey, shiftKey, metaKey, relatedNode indicates the Node the pointing device is entering.

6.6.3. Key events

The DOM Level 2 Event specification does not provide a key event set. An event set designed for use with keyboard input devices will be included in a later version of the DOM specification.

6.6.4. Mutation event types

The mutation event set is designed to allow notification of any changes to the structure of a document, including attr and text modifications. It may be noted that none of the mutation events listed 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 related 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 fired. 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.

A DOM consumer can use the hasFeature of the DOMImplementation interface to determine whether the mutation event set has been implemented by a DOM implementation. The feature string for this event set is "MutationEvents". This string is also used with the createEvent method.

Interface MutationEvent (introduced in DOM Level 2)

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


IDL Definition
// Introduced in DOM Level 2:
interface MutationEvent : Event {
  readonly attribute Node             relatedNode;
  readonly attribute DOMString        prevValue;
  readonly attribute DOMString        newValue;
  readonly attribute DOMString        attrName;
  void               initMutationEvent(in DOMString typeArg, 
                                       in boolean canBubbleArg, 
                                       in boolean cancelableArg, 
                                       in Node relatedNodeArg, 
                                       in DOMString prevValueArg, 
                                       in DOMString newValueArg, 
                                       in DOMString attrNameArg);
};

Attributes
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 dispatch to a subtree indicating a node was changed within it, the relatedNode is the changed node.

prevValue of type DOMString, readonly
prevValue indicates the previous value of the Attr node in DOMAttrModified events, and of the CharacterData node in DOMCharDataModified events.

newValue of type DOMString, readonly
newValue indicates the new value of the Attr node in DOMAttrModified events, and of the CharacterData node in DOMCharDataModified events.

attrName of type DOMString, readonly
attrName indicates the name of the changed Attr node in a DOMAttrModified event.

Methods
initMutationEvent
The initMutationEvent method is used to initialize the value of a MutationEvent created through the DocumentEvent interface. This method may only be called before the MutationEvent has been dispatched via the dispatchEvent method, though it may be called multiple times during that phase if necessary. If called multiple times, the final invocation takes precedence.
Parameters

DOMString

typeArg

Specifies the event type.

boolean

canBubbleArg

Specifies whether or not the event can bubble.

boolean

cancelableArg

Specifies whether or not the event's default action can be prevented.

Node

relatedNodeArg

Specifies the Event's related Node

DOMString

prevValueArg

Specifies the Event's prevValue property

DOMString

newValueArg

Specifies the Event's newValue property

DOMString

attrNameArg

Specifies the Event's attrName property

No Return Value
No Exceptions

The different types of Mutation events that can occur are:

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 fired 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 accomodate 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 have fired.
  • Bubbles: Yes
  • Cancelable: No
  • Context Info: None
DOMNodeInserted
Fired when a node has been added as a child of another node. This event is dispatched after the insertion has taken place. The target of this event is the node being inserted.
  • Bubbles: Yes
  • Cancelable: No
  • Context Info: relatedNode holds the parent node
DOMNodeRemoved
Fired when a node is being removed from another node. This event is dispatched before the node is removed from the tree. The target of this event is the node being removed.
  • Bubbles: Yes
  • Cancelable: No
  • Context Info: relatedNode holds the parent node
DOMNodeRemovedFromDocument
Fired when 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 of this event is the node being removed. If the Node is being directly removed the nodeRemoved event will fire before the nodeRemovedFromDocument event.
  • Bubbles: No
  • Cancelable: No
  • Context Info: None
DOMNodeInsertedIntoDocument
Fired when 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 of this event is the node being inserted. If the Node is being directly inserted the nodeInserted event will fire before the nodeInsertedIntoDocument event.
  • Bubbles: No
  • Cancelable: No
  • Context Info: None
DOMAttrModified
Fired after an Attr has been modified on a node. The target of this event is the Node whose Attr changed.
  • Bubbles: Yes
  • Cancelable: No
  • Context Info: attrName, prevValue, newValue
DOMCharacterDataModified
Fired after CharacterData within a node has been modified but the node itself has not been inserted or deleted. This event is also triggered by modifications to PI elements. The target of this event is the CharacterData node.
  • Bubbles: Yes
  • Cancelable: No
  • Context Info: prevValue, newValue

6.6.5. HTML event types

The HTML event set is composed of events listed in HTML 4.0 and additional events which are supported in DOM Level 0 browsers.

A DOM consumer can use the hasFeature of the DOMImplementation interface to determine whether the HTML event set has been implemented by a DOM implementation. The feature string for this event set is "HTMLEvents". This string is also used with the createEvent method.

The HTML events use the base DOM Event interface to pass contextual information.

The different types of such events that can occur are:

load
The load event occurs when the DOM implementation finishes loading all content within a document, all frames within a FRAMESET, or an OBJECT element.
  • Bubbles: No
  • Cancelable: No
  • Context Info: None
unload
The unload event occurs when the DOM implementation removes a document from a window or frame. This event is valid for BODY and FRAMESET elements.
  • Bubbles: No
  • Cancelable: No
  • Context Info: None
abort
The abort event occurs when page loading is stopped before an image has been allowed to completely load. This event applies to OBJECT elements.
  • Bubbles: Yes
  • Cancelable: No
  • Context Info: None
error
The error event occurs when 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.
  • Bubbles: Yes
  • Cancelable: No
  • Context Info: None
select
The select event occurs when a user selects some text in a text field. This event is valid for INPUT and TEXTAREA elements.
  • Bubbles: Yes
  • Cancelable: No
  • Context Info: None
change
The change event occurs when a control loses the input focus and its value has been modified since gaining focus. This event is valid for INPUT, SELECT, and TEXTAREA. element.
  • Bubbles: Yes
  • Cancelable: No
  • Context Info: None
submit
The submit event occurs when a form is submitted. This event only applies to the FORM element.
  • Bubbles: Yes
  • Cancelable: Yes
  • Context Info: None
reset
The reset event occurs when a form is reset. This event only applies to the FORM element.
  • Bubbles: Yes
  • Cancelable: No
  • Context Info: None
focus
The focus event occurs when an element receives focus either via a pointing device or by tabbing navigation. This event is valid for the following elements: LABEL, INPUT, SELECT, TEXTAREA, and BUTTON.
  • Bubbles: No
  • Cancelable: No
  • Context Info: None
blur
The blur event occurs when an element loses focus either via the pointing device or by tabbing navigation. This event is valid for the following elements: LABEL, INPUT, SELECT, TEXTAREA, and BUTTON.
  • Bubbles: No
  • Cancelable: No
  • Context Info: None
resize
The resize event occurs when a document view is resized.
  • Bubbles: Yes
  • Cancelable: No
  • Context Info: None
scroll
The scroll event occurs when a document view is scrolled.
  • Bubbles: Yes
  • Cancelable: No
  • Context Info: None

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