The removeChild() method removes a specified node.
The removeAttribute() method removes a specified attribute.
The examples below use the XML file books.xml.
A function, loadXMLDoc(), in an external JavaScript is used to load the XML file.
Remove an element node
This example uses removeChild() to remove the first <book> element.
Remove the current element node
This example uses parentNode and removeChild() to remove the current <book> element.
Remove a text node
This example uses removeChild() to remove the text node from the first <title> element.
Clear the text of a text node
This example uses the nodeValue() property to clear the text node of the first <title> element.
Remove an attribute by name
This example uses removeAttribute() to remove the "category" attribute from the first <book> element.
Remove attributes by object
This example uses removeAttributeNode() to remove all attributes from all <book> elements.
The removeChild() method removes a specified node.
When a node is removed, all its child nodes are also removed.
The following code fragment will remove the first <book> element from the loaded xml:
Example explained:
The removeChild() method is the only way to remove a specified node.
When you have navigated to the node you want to remove, it is possible to remove that node using the parentNode property and the removeChild() method:
Example explained:
The removeChild() method can also be used to remove a text node:
Example explained:
It is not very common to use removeChild() just to remove the text from a node. The nodeValue property can be used instead. See next paragraph.
The nodeValue property can be used to change or clear the value of a text node:
Example explained:
Loop through and change the text node of all <title> elements:
Try
it yourself
The removeAttribute(name) method is used to remove an attribute node by its name.
Example: removeAttribute('category')
The following code fragment removes the "category" attribute in the first <book> element:
Example explained:
Loop through and remove the "category" attribute of all <book> elements: Try it yourself
The removeAttributeNode(node) method is used to remove an attribute node, using the node object as parameter.
Example: removeAttributeNode(x)
The following code fragment removes all the attributes of all <book> elements:
Example explained: