Example 17.2: You Can't Name a Form Within a Function
We are using three different ways to refer to information in a form. Type something into the form, then click on the buttons to display an Alert box showing that information. All three methods may work on your browser. But on some early JavaScript browsers (Netscape 2 and early 3 betas) the first two will not work. They should work in Netscape 3 and Internet Explorer 3. We advise you to avoid the first two methods for backward compatibility.
This is the script we used. In the HEAD...
<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JAVASCRIPT">
<!--
function What1(gertrude) {
alert(document.fred.elements[0].value)
}
function What2(gertrude) {
alert(document.forms[0].elements[0].value)
}
function What3(gertrude) {
alert(gertrude.elements[0].value)
}
//-->
</SCRIPT>
Then this form:
<FORM NAME="fred">
<input type="text" size="30"><P>
<I>This one will give you an error:</I><BR>
<input type="button" value="fred.elements[0].value" onclick="What1(this.form)"><P>
<I>This one will give you an error, too:</I><BR>
<input type="button" value="forms[0].elements[0].value" onclick="What2(this.form)"><P>
<I>This one will work:</I><BR>
<input type="button" value="gertrude.elements[0].value" onclick="What3(this.form)">
</FORM>
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