Thread: Extremely basic Javascript snippet, who can be the first to remember the details?

Hi all,
This post is about very simple code and it is also something almost everybody will eventually need. I lost track of a really basic javascript snippet and now it's time to find it again:

HTML Code:

if javascript is off
{show this div}

if javascript is on
{show this div}

I'll also google it, and try to be the first to answer.
Thanks

If javascript is turned off, you would use:

<noscript>
Whatever you put here will display if JS is off.
</noscript>

And if javascript is on, then whatever javascript you have will be displayed normally.

Originally Posted by Kovich

If javascript is turned off, you would use:

<noscript>
Whatever you put here will display if JS is off.
</noscript>

And if javascript is on, then whatever javascript you have will be displayed normally.

Thanks Kovich,
Your answer is correct, but I was trying to re-discover something I'd seen once before:

• <noscript /> javascript tag doesn't work in all old browsers
• <div id="noscript"> is another option, and it might work in all the oldest browsers? (Did the oldest browsers even allow 'div' tags?)

I finally re-discovered...
Try something like this. It degrades gracefully and doesn't require a <noscript /> tag. (source = 1st answer @link)

Code:

<div id="hasJavaScript" style="display: none">
    <!-- Contents hidden when JavaScript is disabled -->
</div>

<div id="noscript">
    <!-- Contents shown only when JavaScript is disabled -->
</div>

<script type="text/javascript">

    document.getElementById('hasJavaScript').display = 'block';
    document.getElementById('noscript').display = 'none';

</script>

IMO, the above code is simple, & a really clean way to deal with javascript issues.

Originally Posted by Good.Karma

<noscript /> javascript tag doesn't work in all old browsers

That is not a valid closing tag for the noscript tag. The proper closing tag is </noscript>. If you use the proper closing tag is should work in all older browsers. The noscript tag has been around since the 1990s, but there is no such thing as a <noscript /> tag.

The noscript tag is a container tag. In other words, you have to have something between an opening and closing tag in order for it to work. The trailing slash is only used for stand-alone tags that do not have a closing tag, such as br, img, meta, hr, etc.

The JavaScript trick to determine if JavaScript is enabled is slick, but it might be easier to use the <noscript> tag.