JavaScript Forum

**Physicsguy** · 08-04-2011, 09:23 PM

I'm a complete JS noob, but I know a few things about it. I know that the following used to work in Firefox, but now it doesn't.

HTML Code:

<script type="text/javascript">
function change() {
document.getElementById('helloworld').innerHTML='Goodbye, World!';
}
window.onload=change;
</script>
<div id="helloworld">
Hello, World!
</div>

But for some odd reason now, it doesn't. Does anybody know why this is? I'm not sure exactly when it stopped working, I just noticed it when I set out to make a little counter script.

Thanks,

-PG

**mgraphic** · 08-04-2011, 10:39 PM

Is this loaded after the onload event is triggered?

**Physicsguy** · 08-05-2011, 12:36 PM

That could be it, but I don't think so. I just remember having this code in one of my previous projects, and it worked fine.

**mgraphic** · 08-05-2011, 01:11 PM

Any errors displayed in FF error console?

**Physicsguy** · 02:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mgraphic

Any errors displayed in FF error console?

Hmm, nope! This is really weird.

I tried something else, and I found out that if you put the JS code inside an external .js file, and link to it with <script src="..."></script>, it works just fine.

No errors on that, either.

EDIT: Now the example I used above is working fine in FF. It changed overnight?

**lizciz** · 08-05-2011, 06:32 PM

Perhaps you were viewing a cached version of your example page, that wasn't correct?

**Physicsguy** · 08-05-2011, 09:45 PM

No, I have Web Developer tools, and have cache disabled on every website I've ever been to. I even tried a hard refresh (Ctrl-F5), and that did nothing.

Although it works now

so I guess this thread is sort of useless unless (:O) somebody else has a similar issue...

**stbuchok** · 08-08-2011, 09:19 AM

My thought is since the original code was not in the head that the following happened:

1. The page loads and causes the onload event to fire prior to reaching your JS code.
2. Your JS code loads
3. Your JS code doesn't run since the onload event has already fired which also means no errors.
4. Now that you have your code in an external file, the onload event gets bound and will fire when the page loads (since the reference is in the head tag).

This is just my hypothesis.

**Sonic3R** · 08-10-2011, 02:48 AM

did you try this :

Code:

<script language="javascript" type="text/javascript">

?

**chrishirst** · 08-10-2011, 08:51 AM

There is no languange attribute for the script element.

**Physicsguy** · 08-10-2011, 09:02 AM

No guys, the problem is solved. It turns out that I needed to call the JS AFTER the div call, so the div would be initialized before the JS.

**Sonic3R** · 08-11-2011, 04:20 AM

the script must be placed between <head> </head> tag
and div between <body></body> tag

**chrishirst** · 08-11-2011, 04:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sonic3R

the script must be placed between <head> </head> tag
and div between <body></body> tag

Now had you read the post before yours you would KNOW that your suggestion would NOT work at all.