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JavaScript

jason limmm
jason limmm
8,009 Points

adding html entities into text nodes using js

plus.addEventListener("click",()=>numbers.textContent+="+");

minus.addEventListener("click",()=>numbers.textContent+="-");

multiply.addEventListener("click",()=>numbers.textContent+="&times");

division.addEventListener("click",()=>numbers.textContent+="&#247");

i want to add the multiplication and division symbol using entities but i tried this one and it doesn't work, it returns "&times" and "&#247" respectively if i click either buttons

right now i am not able to get any snapshots of my project

1 Answer

Steven Parker
Steven Parker
231,198 Points

Remember that "textContent" is always taken verbatim. What you're adding is HTML code. So do this instead:

plus.addEventListener("click", () => (numbers.innerHTML += "+"));
minus.addEventListener("click", () => (numbers.innerHTML += "−"));
multiply.addEventListener("click", () => (numbers.innerHTML += "×"));
division.addEventListener("click", () => (numbers.innerHTML += "÷"));

Also:

  • the entity codes always begin with "&" and end with ";"
  • + and − typically look nicer (and match the others better) than ordinary "+" and "-"
  • ÷ is also a named entity code

And finally, another approach would be to just use the unicode characters directly as the textContent:

plus.addEventListener("click", () => (numbers.textContent += "+"));
minus.addEventListener("click", () => (numbers.textContent += "−"));
multiply.addEventListener("click", () => (numbers.textContent += "×"));
division.addEventListener("click", () => (numbers.textContent += "÷"));