JavaScript closest
When it comes to finding relationships between elements, we traditionally think of a top-down approach. We can thank CSS and querySelector/querySelectorAll for that relationship in selectors. What if we want to find an element's parent based on selector?
To look up the element tree and find a parent by selector, you can use HTMLElement's closest method:
// Our sample element is an "a" tag that matches ul > li > a
const link = document.querySelector('li a');
const list = a.closest('ul');
closest looks up the ancestor chain to find a matching parent element -- the opposite of traditional CSS selectors. You can provide closest a simple or complex selector to look upward for!
![How to Create a Twitter Card]()
One of my favorite social APIs was the Open Graph API adopted by Facebook. Adding just a few META tags to each page allowed links to my article to be styled and presented the way I wanted them to, giving me a bit of control...
![9 Mind-Blowing Canvas Demos]()
The <canvas> element has been a revelation for the visual experts among our ranks. Canvas provides the means for incredible and efficient animations with the added bonus of no Flash; these developers can flash their awesome JavaScript skills instead. Here are nine unbelievable canvas demos that...
![JavaScript Speech Recognition]()
Speech recognition software is becoming more and more important; it started (for me) with Siri on iOS, then Amazon's Echo, then my new Apple TV, and so on. Speech recognition is so useful for not just us tech superstars but for people who either want to work "hands...
![Custom Scrollbars in WebKit]()
Before each of the browser vendors we like was providing unique CSS controls, Internet Explorer was setting the tone. One such example is IE's early implementation of CSS filters. Internet Explorer was also the first browser that allowed developers to, for better or worse, customize...
