Is there a javascript way of determining if an object implements the 'HTMLAnchorElement' interface? When I do typeOf(someVariable) it returns 'object'. Can I take that a step further and verify the type implements the 'HTMLAnchorElement' interface? Seems like it would be simple enough but I can't find any examples. Any help or sample code would be appreciated. Thanks!

Is there a javascript way of determining if an object implements the 'HTMLAnchorElement' interface? When I do typeOf(someVariable) it returns 'object'. Can I take that a step further and verify the type implements the 'HTMLAnchorElement' interface? Seems like it would be simple enough but I can't find any examples. Any help or sample code would be appreciated. Thanks!

• javascript
• dom
• interface
• anchor

Share Improve this question Follow edited Jun 10, 2012 at 13:07 TazGPL 3,74622 gold badges4141 silver badges6060 bronze badges asked Feb 14, 2012 at 20:04 HcabnettekHcabnettek 12.9k3838 gold badges129129 silver badges192192 bronze badges

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Sorted by: Reset to default 8

You can use the instanceof operator.

Example:

var a = document.links[0];
alert(a instanceof HTMLAnchorElement); // true if there's a link in the document

Note that IE7- doesn't define the HTMLAnchorElement object. As a fallback, you can check for the tagName or nodeName property of a supposed element.