Expanded Table of Contents

Expanded Table of Contents
Copyright Notice
- W3C Document Copyright Notice and License
- W3C Software Copyright Notice and License

1. Document Object Model Events

Appendix A: IDL Definitions
Appendix B: Java Language Binding
Appendix C: ECMAScript Language Binding
Appendix D: Acknowledgements
- D.1. Production Systems
Glossary
References
- 1. Normative references
Index

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1. Document Object Model Events

Editors: Tom Pixley, Netscape Communications Corp.

1.1. 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 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 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 conformant event modules 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 application may use the hasFeature(feature, version) method of the DOMImplementation interface with parameter values "Events" and "2.0" (respectively) to determine whether or not the event module is supported by the implementation. In order to fully support this module, an implementation must also support the "Core" feature defined in the DOM Level 2 Core specification [DOM Level 2 Core]. Please, refer to additional information about conformance in the DOM Level 2 Core specification [DOM Level 2 Core].

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

1.1.1. 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.

1.2. 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.

1.2.1. 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.

1.2.2. 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.

1.2.3. 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.

1.2.4. 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.

1.3. Event listener registration

1.3.1. 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. Therefore, this interface can be obtained by using binding-specific casting methods on an instance of the Node interface. 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 while it is processing an event, it will not be triggered by the current actions but may be triggered during a later stage of event flow, such as the bubbling phase.
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

type of type DOMString: The event type for which the user is registering
listener of type EventListener: The listener parameter takes an interface implemented by the user which contains the methods to be called when the event occurs.
useCapture of type boolean: 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

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

evt of type Event: 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.

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 not be triggered by the current actions. EventListeners can never be invoked after being removed.
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 of the EventListener being removed.
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 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

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.

When a Node is copied using the cloneNode method the EventListeners attached to the source Node are not attached to the copied Node. If the user wishes the same EventListeners to be added to the newly created copy the user must add them manually.

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

evt of type Event: 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

1.3.2. 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 EventTarget. 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 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. No technique is provided to allow HTML 4.0 event listeners access to the context information defined for each event.

1.4. 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 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);
};

Definition group PhaseType

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

Defined Constants

AT_TARGET: The event is currently being evaluated at the target EventTarget.
BUBBLING_PHASE: The current event phase is the bubbling phase.
CAPTURING_PHASE: The current event phase is the capturing 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, else the value is false.
cancelable of type boolean, readonly: Used to indicate 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.
currentTarget of type EventTarget, readonly: Used to indicate the EventTarget whose EventListeners are currently being processed. This is particularly useful during capturing and bubbling.
eventPhase of type unsigned short, readonly: Used to indicate which phase of event flow is currently being evaluated.
target of type EventTarget, readonly: Used to indicate the EventTarget to which the event was originally dispatched.
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 of the event (case-insensitive). The name must be an XML name.

Methods

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 attributes are left unchanged.

Parameters

eventTypeArg of type DOMString: 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. It is also strongly recommended that third parties adding their own events use their own prefix to avoid confusion and lessen the probability of conflicts with other new events.
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

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

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

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.

1.5. 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

eventType of type DOMString: 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 "UIEvents". 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

1.6. Event module definitions

The DOM Level 2 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. Any new event types defined by third parties must not begin with any upper, lower, or mixed case version of the string "DOM". This prefix is reserved for future DOM event modules. It is also strongly recommended that third parties adding their own events use their own prefix to avoid confusion and lessen the probability of conflicts with other new events.

1.6.1. User Interface event types

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

A DOM application may use the hasFeature(feature, version) method of the DOMImplementation interface with parameter values "UIEvents" and "2.0" (respectively) to determine whether or not the User Interface 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 and the "Views" feature defined in the DOM Level 2 Views specification [DOM Level 2 Views]. Please, refer to additional information about conformance in the DOM Level 2 Core specification [DOM Level 2 Core].

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

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

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 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

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 detail.

No Return Value

No Exceptions

The different types of such events that can occur are:

DOMFocusIn

The DOMFocusIn event occurs when an EventTarget 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, DOMFocusIn can be applied to any focusable EventTarget, not just FORM controls.

Bubbles: Yes
Cancelable: No
Context Info: None

DOMFocusOut

The DOMFocusOut event occurs when a EventTarget 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, DOMFocusOut can be applied to any focusable EventTarget, 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)

1.6.2. Mouse event types

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

A DOM application may use the hasFeature(feature, version) method of the DOMImplementation interface with parameter values "MouseEvents" and "2.0" (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. Please, refer to additional information about conformance in the DOM Level 2 Core specification [DOM Level 2 Core].

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

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 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);
};

Attributes

altKey of type boolean, readonly: Used to indicate whether the 'alt' 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.
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: Used to indicate whether the 'ctrl' key was depressed during the firing of the event.
metaKey of type boolean, readonly: Used to indicate whether the 'meta' key was depressed during the firing of the event. On some platforms this key may map to an alternative key name.
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: Used to indicate whether the 'shift' key was depressed during the firing of the event.

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

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.

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, relatedTarget indicates the EventTarget 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, relatedTarget indicates the EventTarget the pointing device is entering.

1.6.3. Key events

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

1.6.4. Mutation event types

The mutation event module 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 application may use the hasFeature(feature, version) method of the DOMImplementation interface with parameter values "MutationEvents" and "2.0" (respectively) to determine whether or not the Mutation 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. Please, refer to additional information about conformance in the DOM Level 2 Core specification [DOM Level 2 Core].

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

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 {

  // 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);
};

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 DOMCharDataModified events.
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.
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 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

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 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 its parent 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 DOMNodeRemoved event will fire before the DOMNodeRemovedFromDocument 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 DOMNodeInserted event will fire before the DOMNodeInsertedIntoDocument 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. The value of attrChange indicates whether the Attr was modified, added, or removed. The value of relatedNode indicates the Attr node whose value has been affected. 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.

Bubbles: Yes
Cancelable: No
Context Info: attrName, attrChange, prevValue, newValue, relatedNode

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

1.6.5. HTML event types

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

A DOM application may use the hasFeature(feature, version) method of the DOMImplementation interface with parameter values "HTMLEvents" and "2.0" (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 "Events" feature defined in this specification. Please, refer to additional information about conformance in the DOM Level 2 Core specification [DOM Level 2 Core].

Note: To create an instance of the Event interface for the HTML event module, use the feature string "HTMLEvents" as the value of the input parameter used with the createEvent method of the DocumentEvent interface.

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

Appendix A: IDL Definitions

This appendix contains the complete OMG IDL [OMGIDL] for the Level 2 Document Object Model Events definitions.

The IDL files are also available as: http://www.w3.org/TR/2000/REC-DOM-Level-2-Events-20001113/idl.zip

events.idl:

// File: events.idl

#ifndef _EVENTS_IDL_
#define _EVENTS_IDL_

#include "dom.idl"
#include "views.idl"

#pragma prefix "dom.w3c.org"
module events
{

  typedef dom::DOMString DOMString;
  typedef dom::DOMTimeStamp DOMTimeStamp;
  typedef dom::Node Node;

  interface EventListener;
  interface Event;

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


  // 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);
  };

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

  // 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 2:
  interface DocumentEvent {
    Event              createEvent(in DOMString eventType)
                                        raises(dom::DOMException);
  };

  // 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 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 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);
  };
};

#endif // _EVENTS_IDL_

Appendix B: Java Language Binding

This appendix contains the complete Java [Java] bindings for the Level 2 Document Object Model Events.

The Java files are also available as http://www.w3.org/TR/2000/REC-DOM-Level-2-Events-20001113/java-binding.zip

org/w3c/dom/events/EventException.java:

package org.w3c.dom.events;

public class EventException extends RuntimeException {
    public EventException(short code, String message) {
       super(message);
       this.code = code;
    }
    public short   code;
    // EventExceptionCode
    public static final short UNSPECIFIED_EVENT_TYPE_ERR = 0;

}

org/w3c/dom/events/EventTarget.java:

package org.w3c.dom.events;

public interface EventTarget {
    public void addEventListener(String type, 
                                 EventListener listener, 
                                 boolean useCapture);

    public void removeEventListener(String type, 
                                    EventListener listener, 
                                    boolean useCapture);

    public boolean dispatchEvent(Event evt)
                                 throws EventException;

}

org/w3c/dom/events/EventListener.java:

package org.w3c.dom.events;

public interface EventListener {
    public void handleEvent(Event evt);

}

org/w3c/dom/events/Event.java:

package org.w3c.dom.events;

public interface Event {
    // PhaseType
    public static final short CAPTURING_PHASE           = 1;
    public static final short AT_TARGET                 = 2;
    public static final short BUBBLING_PHASE            = 3;

    public String getType();

    public EventTarget getTarget();

    public EventTarget getCurrentTarget();

    public short getEventPhase();

    public boolean getBubbles();

    public boolean getCancelable();

    public long getTimeStamp();

    public void stopPropagation();

    public void preventDefault();

    public void initEvent(String eventTypeArg, 
                          boolean canBubbleArg, 
                          boolean cancelableArg);

}

org/w3c/dom/events/DocumentEvent.java:

package org.w3c.dom.events;

import org.w3c.dom.DOMException;

public interface DocumentEvent {
    public Event createEvent(String eventType)
                             throws DOMException;

}

org/w3c/dom/events/UIEvent.java:

package org.w3c.dom.events;

import org.w3c.dom.views.AbstractView;

public interface UIEvent extends Event {
    public AbstractView getView();

    public int getDetail();

    public void initUIEvent(String typeArg, 
                            boolean canBubbleArg, 
                            boolean cancelableArg, 
                            AbstractView viewArg, 
                            int detailArg);

}

org/w3c/dom/events/MouseEvent.java:

package org.w3c.dom.events;

import org.w3c.dom.views.AbstractView;

public interface MouseEvent extends UIEvent {
    public int getScreenX();

    public int getScreenY();

    public int getClientX();

    public int getClientY();

    public boolean getCtrlKey();

    public boolean getShiftKey();

    public boolean getAltKey();

    public boolean getMetaKey();

    public short getButton();

    public EventTarget getRelatedTarget();

    public void initMouseEvent(String typeArg, 
                               boolean canBubbleArg, 
                               boolean cancelableArg, 
                               AbstractView viewArg, 
                               int detailArg, 
                               int screenXArg, 
                               int screenYArg, 
                               int clientXArg, 
                               int clientYArg, 
                               boolean ctrlKeyArg, 
                               boolean altKeyArg, 
                               boolean shiftKeyArg, 
                               boolean metaKeyArg, 
                               short buttonArg, 
                               EventTarget relatedTargetArg);

}

org/w3c/dom/events/MutationEvent.java:

package org.w3c.dom.events;

import org.w3c.dom.Node;

public interface MutationEvent extends Event {
    // attrChangeType
    public static final short MODIFICATION              = 1;
    public static final short ADDITION                  = 2;
    public static final short REMOVAL                   = 3;

    public Node getRelatedNode();

    public String getPrevValue();

    public String getNewValue();

    public String getAttrName();

    public short getAttrChange();

    public void initMutationEvent(String typeArg, 
                                  boolean canBubbleArg, 
                                  boolean cancelableArg, 
                                  Node relatedNodeArg, 
                                  String prevValueArg, 
                                  String newValueArg, 
                                  String attrNameArg, 
                                  short attrChangeArg);

}

Appendix C: ECMAScript Language Binding

This appendix contains the complete ECMAScript [ECMAScript] binding for the Level 2 Document Object Model Events definitions.

Note: Exceptions handling is only supported by ECMAScript implementation conformant with the Standard ECMA-262 3rd. Edition ([ECMAScript]).

Object EventTarget

The EventTarget object has the following methods:

addEventListener(type, listener, useCapture): This method has no return value.
The type parameter is of type String.
The listener parameter is a EventListener object.
The useCapture parameter is of type Boolean.
removeEventListener(type, listener, useCapture): This method has no return value.
The type parameter is of type String.
The listener parameter is a EventListener object.
The useCapture parameter is of type Boolean.
dispatchEvent(evt): This method returns a Boolean.
The evt parameter is a Event object.
This method can raise a EventException object.

Object EventListener

This is an ECMAScript function reference. This method has no return value. The parameter is a Event object.

Prototype Object Event

The Event class has the following constants:

Event.CAPTURING_PHASE: This constant is of type Number and its value is 1.
Event.AT_TARGET: This constant is of type Number and its value is 2.
Event.BUBBLING_PHASE: This constant is of type Number and its value is 3.

Object Event

The Event object has the following properties:

type: This read-only property is of type String.
target: This read-only property is a EventTarget object.
currentTarget: This read-only property is a EventTarget object.
eventPhase: This read-only property is of type Number.
bubbles: This read-only property is of type Boolean.
cancelable: This read-only property is of type Boolean.
timeStamp: This read-only property is a Date object.

The Event object has the following methods:

stopPropagation(): This method has no return value.
preventDefault(): This method has no return value.
initEvent(eventTypeArg, canBubbleArg, cancelableArg): This method has no return value.
The eventTypeArg parameter is of type String.
The canBubbleArg parameter is of type Boolean.
The cancelableArg parameter is of type Boolean.

Prototype Object EventException

The EventException class has the following constants:

EventException.UNSPECIFIED_EVENT_TYPE_ERR: This constant is of type Number and its value is 0.

Object EventException

The EventException object has the following properties:

code: This property is of type Number.

Object DocumentEvent

The DocumentEvent object has the following methods:

createEvent(eventType): This method returns a Event object.
The eventType parameter is of type String.
This method can raise a DOMException object.

Object UIEvent

UIEvent has the all the properties and methods of the Event object as well as the properties and methods defined below.

The UIEvent object has the following properties:

view: This read-only property is a AbstractView object.
detail: This read-only property is a long object.

The UIEvent object has the following methods:

initUIEvent(typeArg, canBubbleArg, cancelableArg, viewArg, detailArg): This method has no return value.
The typeArg parameter is of type String.
The canBubbleArg parameter is of type Boolean.
The cancelableArg parameter is of type Boolean.
The viewArg parameter is a AbstractView object.
The detailArg parameter is a long object.

Object MouseEvent

MouseEvent has the all the properties and methods of the UIEvent object as well as the properties and methods defined below.

The MouseEvent object has the following properties:

screenX: This read-only property is a long object.
screenY: This read-only property is a long object.
clientX: This read-only property is a long object.
clientY: This read-only property is a long object.
ctrlKey: This read-only property is of type Boolean.
shiftKey: This read-only property is of type Boolean.
altKey: This read-only property is of type Boolean.
metaKey: This read-only property is of type Boolean.
button: This read-only property is of type Number.
relatedTarget: This read-only property is a EventTarget object.

The MouseEvent object has the following methods:

initMouseEvent(typeArg, canBubbleArg, cancelableArg, viewArg, detailArg, screenXArg, screenYArg, clientXArg, clientYArg, ctrlKeyArg, altKeyArg, shiftKeyArg, metaKeyArg, buttonArg, relatedTargetArg): This method has no return value.
The typeArg parameter is of type String.
The canBubbleArg parameter is of type Boolean.
The cancelableArg parameter is of type Boolean.
The viewArg parameter is a AbstractView object.
The detailArg parameter is a long object.
The screenXArg parameter is a long object.
The screenYArg parameter is a long object.
The clientXArg parameter is a long object.
The clientYArg parameter is a long object.
The ctrlKeyArg parameter is of type Boolean.
The altKeyArg parameter is of type Boolean.
The shiftKeyArg parameter is of type Boolean.
The metaKeyArg parameter is of type Boolean.
The buttonArg parameter is of type Number.
The relatedTargetArg parameter is a EventTarget object.

Prototype Object MutationEvent

The MutationEvent class has the following constants:

MutationEvent.MODIFICATION: This constant is of type Number and its value is 1.
MutationEvent.ADDITION: This constant is of type Number and its value is 2.
MutationEvent.REMOVAL: This constant is of type Number and its value is 3.

Object MutationEvent

MutationEvent has the all the properties and methods of the Event object as well as the properties and methods defined below.

The MutationEvent object has the following properties:

relatedNode: This read-only property is a Node object.
prevValue: This read-only property is of type String.
newValue: This read-only property is of type String.
attrName: This read-only property is of type String.
attrChange: This read-only property is of type Number.

The MutationEvent object has the following methods:

initMutationEvent(typeArg, canBubbleArg, cancelableArg, relatedNodeArg, prevValueArg, newValueArg, attrNameArg, attrChangeArg): This method has no return value.
The typeArg parameter is of type String.
The canBubbleArg parameter is of type Boolean.
The cancelableArg parameter is of type Boolean.
The relatedNodeArg parameter is a Node object.
The prevValueArg parameter is of type String.
The newValueArg parameter is of type String.
The attrNameArg parameter is of type String.
The attrChangeArg parameter is of type Number.

The following example will add an ECMAScript based EventListener to the Node 'exampleNode':

  // Given the Node 'exampleNode'

  // Define the EventListener function
  function clickHandler(evt) 
  {
    // Function contents 
  }

  // The following line will add a non-capturing 'click' listener
  // to 'exampleNode'. 
  exampleNode.addEventListener("click", clickHandler, false);

Appendix D: Acknowledgements

Many people contributed to this specification, including members of the DOM Working Group and the DOM Interest Group. We especially thank the following:

Lauren Wood (SoftQuad Software Inc., chair), Andrew Watson (Object Management Group), Andy Heninger (IBM), Arnaud Le Hors (W3C and IBM), Ben Chang (Oracle), Bill Smith (Sun), Bill Shea (Merrill Lynch), Bob Sutor (IBM), Chris Lovett (Microsoft), Chris Wilson (Microsoft), David Brownell (Sun), David Singer (IBM), Don Park (invited), Eric Vasilik (Microsoft), Gavin Nicol (INSO), Ian Jacobs (W3C), James Clark (invited), James Davidson (Sun), Jared Sorensen (Novell), Joe Kesselman (IBM), Joe Lapp (webMethods), Joe Marini (Macromedia), Johnny Stenback (Netscape), Jonathan Marsh (Microsoft), Jonathan Robie (Texcel Research and Software AG), Kim Adamson-Sharpe (SoftQuad Software Inc.), Laurence Cable (Sun), Mark Davis (IBM), Mark Scardina (Oracle), Martin Dürst (W3C), Mick Goulish (Software AG), Mike Champion (Arbortext and Software AG), Miles Sabin (Cromwell Media), Patti Lutsky (Arbortext), Paul Grosso (Arbortext), Peter Sharpe (SoftQuad Software Inc.), Phil Karlton (Netscape), Philippe Le Hégaret (W3C, W3C team contact), Ramesh Lekshmynarayanan (Merrill Lynch), Ray Whitmer (iMall, Excite@Home and Netscape), Rich Rollman (Microsoft), Rick Gessner (Netscape), Scott Isaacs (Microsoft), Sharon Adler (INSO), Steve Byrne (JavaSoft), Tim Bray (invited), Tom Pixley (Netscape), Vidur Apparao (Netscape), Vinod Anupam (Lucent).

Thanks to all those who have helped to improve this specification by sending suggestions and corrections.

D.1: Production Systems

This specification was written in XML. The HTML, OMG IDL, Java and ECMA Script bindings were all produced automatically.

Thanks to Joe English, author of cost, which was used as the basis for producing DOM Level 1. Thanks also to Gavin Nicol, who wrote the scripts which run on top of cost. Arnaud Le Hors and Philippe Le Hégaret maintained the scripts.

For DOM Level 2, we used Xerces as the basis DOM implementation and wish to thank the authors. Philippe Le Hégaret and Arnaud Le Hors wrote the Java programs which are the DOM application.

Thanks also to Jan Kärrman, author of html2ps, which we use in creating the PostScript version of the specification.

Glossary

Editors: Arnaud Le Hors, IBM; Lauren Wood, SoftQuad Software Inc.; Robert S. Sutor, IBM (for DOM Level 1)

Several of the following term definitions have been borrowed or modified from similar definitions in other W3C or standards documents. See the links within the definitions for more information.

ancestor: An ancestor node of any node A is any node above A in a tree model of a document, where "above" means "toward the root."
child: A child is an immediate descendant node of a node.
descendant: A descendant node of any node A is any node below A in a tree model of a document, where "above" means "toward the root."
DOM Level 0: The term "DOM Level 0" refers to a mix (not formally specified) of HTML document functionalities offered by Netscape Navigator version 3.0 and Microsoft Internet Explorer version 3.0. In some cases, attributes or methods have been included for reasons of backward compatibility with "DOM Level 0".
sibling: Two nodes are siblings if and only if they have the same parent node.
tokenized: The description given to various information items (for example, attribute values of various types, but not including the StringType CDATA) after having been processed by the XML processor. The process includes stripping leading and trailing white space, and replacing multiple space characters by one. See the definition of tokenized type.
XML name: See XML name in the XML specification [XML].

References

For the latest version of any W3C specification please consult the list of W3C Technical Reports available at http://www.w3.org/TR.

F.1: Normative references

DOM Level 2 Core: W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) Document Object Model Level 2 Core Specification, November 2000. Available at http://www.w3.org/TR/2000/REC-DOM-Level-2-Core-20001113
ECMAScript: ECMA (European Computer Manufacturers Association) ECMAScript Language Specification. Available at http://www.ecma.ch/ecma1/STAND/ECMA-262.HTM
Java: Sun Microsystems Inc. The Java Language Specification, James Gosling, Bill Joy, and Guy Steele, September 1996. Available at http://java.sun.com/docs/books/jls
OMGIDL: OMG (Object Management Group) IDL (Interface Definition Language) defined in The Common Object Request Broker: Architecture and Specification, version 2.3.1, October 1999. Available from http://www.omg.org/
DOM Level 2 Views: W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) Document Object Model Level 2 Views Specification, November 2000. Available at http://www.w3.org/TR/2000/REC-DOM-Level-2-Views-20001113
XML: W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) Extensible Markup Language (XML) 1.0, February 1998. Available at http://www.w3.org/TR/1998/REC-xml-19980210

Index

addEventListener	ADDITION	altKey
ancestor 1, 2, 3	AT_TARGET	attrChange
attrName

bubbles	BUBBLING_PHASE	button

cancelable	CAPTURING_PHASE	child 1, 2
clientX	clientY	createEvent
ctrlKey	currentTarget

descendant 1, 2	detail	dispatchEvent
DocumentEvent	DOM Level 0 1, 2, 3, 4, 5	DOM Level 2 Core 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
DOM Level 2 Views 1, 2

ECMAScript	Event	EventException
EventListener	eventPhase	EventTarget

handleEvent

initEvent	initMouseEvent	initMutationEvent
initUIEvent

Java

metaKey	MODIFICATION	MouseEvent
MutationEvent

newValue

OMGIDL

preventDefault	prevValue

relatedNode	relatedTarget	REMOVAL
removeEventListener

screenX	screenY	shiftKey
sibling 1, 2	stopPropagation

target	timeStamp	tokenized
type

UIEvent	UNSPECIFIED_EVENT_TYPE_ERR

view

XML 1, 2	XML name 1, 2, 3

Document Object Model (DOM) Level 2 Events Specification

Version 1.0

W3C Recommendation 13 November, 2000 superseded 3 November 2020

Abstract

Status of this document

Table of contents

Expanded Table of Contents

Copyright Notice

W3C Document Copyright Notice and License

W3C Software Copyright Notice and License

1. Document Object Model Events

Table of contents

1.1. Overview of the DOM Level 2 Event Model

1.1.1. Terminology

1.2. Description of event flow

1.2.1. Basic event flow

1.2.2. Event capture

1.2.3. Event bubbling

1.2.4. Event cancelation

1.3. Event listener registration

1.3.1. Event registration interfaces

1.3.2. Interaction with HTML 4.0 event listeners

1.4. Event interface

1.5. DocumentEvent interface

1.6. Event module definitions

1.6.1. User Interface event types

1.6.2. Mouse event types

1.6.3. Key events

1.6.4. Mutation event types

1.6.5. HTML event types

Appendix A: IDL Definitions

events.idl:

Appendix B: Java Language Binding

org/w3c/dom/events/EventException.java:

org/w3c/dom/events/EventTarget.java:

org/w3c/dom/events/EventListener.java:

org/w3c/dom/events/Event.java:

org/w3c/dom/events/DocumentEvent.java:

org/w3c/dom/events/UIEvent.java:

org/w3c/dom/events/MouseEvent.java:

org/w3c/dom/events/MutationEvent.java:

Appendix C: ECMAScript Language Binding

Appendix D: Acknowledgements

D.1: Production Systems

Glossary

References

F.1: Normative references

Index

W3C Recommendation 13 November, 2000
superseded 3 November 2020