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JavaScript JavaScript and the DOM Getting a Handle on the DOM Return Elements Using CSS Selectors

John Lane
John Lane
1,697 Points
Posted by John Lane
John Lane
1,697 Points

how to use descendant selector in JavaScript

I keep getting an error that doesn't help me get any closer to the correct answer.

app.js 
let navigationLinks = document.querySelectorAll(":scope nav > ul > li > a");
let galleryLinks;
let footerImages;
index.html 
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <meta charset="utf-8">
    <title>Treehouse Student | Designer</title>
    <link rel="stylesheet" href="css/normalize.css">
    <link href='http://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Changa+One|Open+Sans:400italic,700italic,400,700,800' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css'>
    <link rel="stylesheet" href="css/main.css">
    <link rel="stylesheet" href="css/responsive.css">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
  </head>
  <body>
    <header>
      <a href="index.html" id="logo">
        <h1>Treehouse Student</h1>
        <h2>Designer</h2>
      </a>
      <nav>
        <ul>
          <li><a href="#" class="selected">Work</a></li>
          <li><a href="#">About</a></li>
          <li><a href="#">Contact</a></li>
        </ul>
      </nav>
    </header>
    <div id="wrapper">
      <section>
        <ul id="gallery">
          <li>
            <a href="#">
              <img src="img/numbers-01.jpg" alt="The number 1 painted with colors and textures.">
              <p>Experimentation with color and texture.</p>
            </a>
          </li>
          <li>
            <a href="#">
              <img src="img/numbers-02.jpg" alt="The number 2 painted with various colors blended together.">
              <p>Playing with blending modes in Photoshop.</p>
            </a>
          </li>
        </ul>
      </section>
      <footer>
        <a href="https://twitter.com/treehouse"><img src="img/twitter-wrap.png" alt="Twitter Logo" class="social-icon"></a>
        <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TeamTreehouse"><img src="img/facebook-wrap.png" alt="Facebook Logo" class="social-icon"></a>
        <p>&copy; Treehouse Student.</p>
      </footer>
    </div>
    <script src="app.js"></script>
  </body>
</html>

1 Answer

Steven Parker
Steven Parker
231,275 Points
Steven Parker
Steven Parker
231,275 Points

You're getting too fancy, you don't need to identify every ancestor if you use the descendant selector (just a space) instead of the direct child selector (>).

So a selector for "all <a> elements inside the <nav> element" would just be "nav a".

John Lane
John Lane
1,697 Points
John Lane
John Lane
1,697 Points

OH! Awesome. Keep it simple. Thanks!