Older browsers, form syntax

[Vasudevelopa]

Can anyone tell me if code to access form elements is compatible with older browsers, particularly IE, NS, and AOL? I'm thinking about NS 4.5+, IE 4+, AOL 5+. Example:

f = document.forms['formName'].elements;

[adios]

These have nothing to do with browser object models - they're simply alternative ways of referencing any browser object:

document.forms['formName'].elements;
document.forms.formName.elements;

Both reference the same object - the elements[] array of a form named 'formName' (imaginative), the first using hashtable referencing, the second, dot syntax. More here.

As for whether you need to include the [document.]forms[] collection in the reference, I'd say emphatically 'no' - but some people get exercised when you espouse any form of shortcut referencing so, take your pick. The same applies to document.image_name, document.form_name.element_name, Select[n] (no options[] reference) and so on. These all work in the v.4+ browsers mentioned.

[beetle]

I actually prefer to use the hashtable references. Sometimes, forms and images aren't properly exposed as document properties (in some browsers) - and an XHTML-compatible form (one without a name attribute) won't register either. Using the collections removes all ambiguity.