javascript - Is getElementByClass safe to use across browsers like getElementById?

Question

Is getElementByClass safe to use across browsers like getElementById?

Update Currently using:

 window.opener.document.getElementById

But I want to reference the object by classname (there will be only 1 element with that classname).

Answer 1

getElementsByClassName is unfortunately not reliable cross-browser. It's currently supported by the most recent versions of Firefox, Opera, Safari, and Chrome, but not at all in Internet Explorer or Konqueror, according to Quirksmode.

If you want to use it cross-browser, you'll have to have to provide your own implementation for those browsers that don't support it, like in PPK's blog:

function getElementsByClassName(node,classname) {
    if (node.getElementsByClassName)
        return node.getElementsByClassName(classname);
    else {
        // your custom function
    }
}