appendChild vs innerHTML: Best Practices for Safe and Efficient DOM Manipulation

When we are manipulating the DOM, sometimes we use innerHTML, so we can finish our work quickly, but did you know there is a better way and is best practice, namely using appendChild.

The following is the explanation.

Using appendChild is generally considered a better practice compared to using innerHTML. Here’s why:

1. Security:

• innerHTML can introduce security risks like Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) attacks, since it directly parses and inserts HTML content into the DOM. If the content is user-generated or dynamic and not properly sanitized, malicious scripts could be executed.
• appendChild, on the other hand, works with DOM elements, making it safer as it doesn't interpret strings as HTML. Instead, you directly manipulate the DOM tree.

2. Performance:

• innerHTML re-parses the entire HTML content every time it’s called, potentially causing performance issues, especially for large or complex DOM structures.
• appendChild is more efficient when adding individual nodes, as it simply inserts the element into the existing DOM without re-parsing the entire content.

3. Preserving Event Listeners:

• innerHTML will remove and replace all content inside an element, which means any attached event listeners or states on those elements will be lost.
• appendChild adds elements without affecting existing ones, thus preserving any previously attached event listeners.

While innerHTML is easier to use for adding simple HTML content, appendChild is more robust, secure, and performant, especially for manipulating individual elements. It is the recommended method when working with DOM elements programmatically.

But why people mostly using innerHTML?

People often use innerHTML because of its simplicity and ease of use, especially for quick tasks. Here are the main reasons:

1. Ease of Use:

• Quick and Simple: innerHTML allows developers to insert or modify HTML content as a string without needing to create and append multiple elements manually. It's a single line solution for updating an element’s content.
• String-Based: Since it's string-based, developers can easily concatenate dynamic data into HTML templates, making it convenient for rapid development.

2. Familiarity:

• Many developers start learning DOM manipulation with innerHTML, as it's widely mentioned in tutorials and examples. Its immediate impact on the webpage makes it an attractive option for beginners.

3. Bulk Updates:

• Updating Multiple Elements: If a developer needs to update a large block of HTML content at once, innerHTML provides a straightforward way to replace all the inner content of an element.

4. Lack of Awareness of Alternatives:

• Some developers may not be fully aware of the alternatives like appendChild or the potential downsides of innerHTML in terms of security and performance. They may continue using it out of habit or a lack of understanding of best practices.

5. Legacy Code and Compatibility:

• In older codebases or projects where rapid development was prioritized, innerHTML was often used. Maintaining consistency with legacy code can lead developers to continue using it.

Finally

While innerHTML is convenient for small tasks or non-sensitive projects, its security risks (XSS vulnerabilities), performance concerns, and potential to break event listeners make it less ideal for modern, secure applications. Developers may opt for appendChild or other DOM manipulation methods as they gain more experience with best practices and modern web development.

Hope it helps.

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