NodeIterator

{{APIRef("DOM")}} 

The NodeIterator interface represents an iterator to traverse nodes of a DOM subtree in document order.

A NodeIterator can be created using the {{domxref("Document.createNodeIterator()")}}  method, as follows:

const nodeIterator = document.createNodeIterator(root, whatToShow, filter);

Instance properties

This interface doesn’t inherit any property.

• {{domxref("NodeIterator.root")}}  {{ReadOnlyInline}} 

  • : Returns a {{domxref("Node")}}  representing the root node, as specified when the NodeIterator was created.

• {{domxref("NodeIterator.whatToShow")}}  {{ReadOnlyInline}} 

  • : Returns an unsigned long bitmask that describes the types of {{domxref("Node")}}  to be matched. Non-matching nodes are skipped, but relevant child nodes may be included.

    The possible bitmask values are constants from the NodeFilter interface:

    Constant	Numerical value	Description
    NodeFilter.SHOW_ALL	4294967295 (that is the max value of unsigned long)	Shows all nodes.
    NodeFilter.SHOW_ATTRIBUTE {{deprecated_inline}}	2	Shows attribute {{ domxref("Attr") }}  nodes. This is meaningful only when creating a NodeIterator with an {{ domxref("Attr") }}  node as its root; in this case, it means that the attribute node will appear in the first position of the iteration or traversal. Since attributes are never children of other nodes, they do not appear when traversing over the document tree.
    NodeFilter.SHOW_CDATA_SECTION {{deprecated_inline}}	8	Shows {{ domxref("CDATASection") }}  nodes.
    NodeFilter.SHOW_COMMENT	128	Shows {{ domxref("Comment") }}  nodes.
    NodeFilter.SHOW_DOCUMENT	256	Shows {{ domxref("Document") }}  nodes.
    NodeFilter.SHOW_DOCUMENT_FRAGMENT	1024	Shows {{ domxref("DocumentFragment") }}  nodes.
    NodeFilter.SHOW_DOCUMENT_TYPE	512	Shows {{ domxref("DocumentType") }}  nodes.
    NodeFilter.SHOW_ELEMENT	1	Shows {{ domxref("Element") }}  nodes.
    NodeFilter.SHOW_ENTITY {{deprecated_inline}}	32	Legacy, no longer used.
    NodeFilter.SHOW_ENTITY_REFERENCE {{deprecated_inline}}	16	Legacy, no longer used.
    NodeFilter.SHOW_NOTATION {{deprecated_inline}}	2048	Legacy, no longer used.
    NodeFilter.SHOW_PROCESSING_INSTRUCTION	64	Shows {{domxref("ProcessingInstruction")}}  nodes.
    NodeFilter.SHOW_TEXT	4	Shows {{domxref("Text") }}  nodes.

• {{domxref("NodeIterator.filter")}}  {{ReadOnlyInline}} 

  • : Returns a NodeFilter used to select the relevant nodes.

• {{domxref("NodeIterator.referenceNode")}}  {{ReadOnlyInline}}  {{experimental_inline() }} 

  • : Returns the {{domxref("Node")}}  to which the iterator is anchored.

• {{domxref("NodeIterator.pointerBeforeReferenceNode")}}  {{ReadOnlyInline}} 

  • : Returns a boolean indicating whether or not the NodeIterator is anchored before the {{domxref("NodeIterator.referenceNode")}} . If false, it indicates that the iterator is anchored after the reference node.

Instance methods

This interface doesn’t inherit any method.

• {{domxref("NodeIterator.detach()")}}  {{deprecated_inline}} 
  • : This is a legacy method, and no longer has any effect. Previously it served to mark a NodeIterator as disposed, so it could be reclaimed by garbage collection.
• {{domxref("NodeIterator.previousNode()")}} 
  • : Returns the previous {{domxref("Node")}}  in the document, or null if there are none.
• {{domxref("NodeIterator.nextNode()")}} 
  • : Returns the next {{domxref("Node")}}  in the document, or null if there are none.

Specifications

{{Specifications}} 

Browser compatibility

{{Compat}} 

See also

• The creator method: {{domxref("Document.createNodeIterator()")}} .
• Related interface: {{domxref("TreeWalker")}}