The Case of Notation Command in JavaScript

Notation is one of the most rarely used commands in JavaScript. This type of command is added on nodes as provider of additional information for the browser. But notation is not just added in any node – notation is added on unparsed nodes.

Any data that might not have enough information about its features or when the data is not properly categorized for proper functioning could be effectively defined with the help of notation. The function is usually added in the top of the node so that the browser would have an immediate idea how the application would work.

The reason why the command notation is not extensively used in most applications is on its availability to other browsers. Common sense will naturally suggest that you don’t have to force yourself into something that might not be used in future. No response could be expected when the browser doesn’t offer at least partial support.

To be specific, Firefox and Safari do not offer any type of support at all for notation while IE and Opera offers partial recognition for notation. This should not come as a surprise for IE and Opera as they usually provide limited assistance. But in the case of Firefox, the lack of support for notation in JavaScript seemed to be baffling. If there’s any browser that should show support to JavaScript and DOM, it’s Firefox.

But if you take a look at it closely, you’ll see Firefox actually has a good reason to disregarded notation. To fully understand this, take a look at the partial availability of notation in IE. IE v5.5 and up only supports notation of they are built as XML for data services only. The rest will not be entertained or will have no response on the browser. XHTML could also be used as an output but still, for data purposes only.

Since the command’s primary efficiency is only based on the data it could provide and XML as its optimal output, Firefox is better off disregarding the function to prevent confusion and complication on how developers would identify nodes. Instead of using notation to help the browser identify nodes, developers would just have to focus on attribute function instead.

The attribute function also do the same task for notation in terms of providing data for nodes. But its exceptional function is its availability for childnode which is not found in notation. Without support and additional function for childnode, developers are forced to use the function again and again which could require additional coding time for developers.

But why study the notation function? Notation could provide you with an exceptional tool to easily implement the application in IE especially if your online application is graphics intensive. Through notation, you should be able to easily launch the application and quickly load the graphics.

If you don’t expect many users in Firefox, you can use this function to easily implement the application. Otherwise, you can just focus on attributes for a more universal implementation of the JavaScript or Ajax based application.