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What are the document methods supported by Legacy DOM?

HTML Javascript Programming Scripts

The Legacy DOM provided several document methods for manipulating document content. While most are deprecated in modern web development, understanding them helps with legacy code maintenance.

Legacy DOM Document Methods

Method	Description & Usage
clear()	Deprecated - Erased document contents and returned nothing. Example: `document.clear()`
close()	Closes a document stream opened with `open()` method. Example: `document.close()`
open()	Deletes existing content and opens a stream for new content. Example: `document.open()`
write()	Inserts strings into the document during parsing or after `open()`. Example: `document.write("Hello World")`
writeln()	Same as `write()` but appends a newline character. Example: `document.writeln("Hello World")`

Example: Using document.write()

<html>
<head>
    <title>Legacy DOM Example</title>
</head>
<body>
    <script>
        document.write("<h2>Welcome to Legacy DOM</h2>");
        document.writeln("<p>This is line 1</p>");
        document.writeln("<p>This is line 2</p>");
    </script>
</body>
</html>

Welcome to Legacy DOM
This is line 1
This is line 2

Modern Alternative

Modern JavaScript uses DOM manipulation methods instead:

<html>
<head>
    <title>Modern DOM Example</title>
</head>
<body>
    <div id="content"></div>
    <script>
        const content = document.getElementById("content");
        content.innerHTML = "<h2>Modern DOM Approach</h2><p>Better practice</p>";
    </script>
</body>
</html>

Key Points

document.clear() is completely deprecated and should not be used
document.write() can break the page if called after loading completes
open() and close() are mainly used with dynamically created documents
Modern DOM methods like innerHTML, appendChild() are preferred

Conclusion

Legacy DOM methods were essential for early web development but are largely obsolete today. Modern DOM manipulation provides better performance and maintainability for dynamic content creation.

Priya Pallavi

Updated on: 2026-03-15T23:18:59+05:30

167 Views

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