initEvent

initEvent is a method on Event objects used to initialize or reinitialize the properties of an Event created with document.createEvent in legacy web APIs. It is part of the older DOM Events interface and is kept for backward compatibility in some environments.

Its signature is initEvent(type, bubbles, cancelable) and it sets the event’s type, the boolean for whether the event bubbles up through the DOM, and the boolean for whether the event is cancelable. Calling initEvent does not change the event’s target or currentTarget, and it does not by itself dispatch the event. The method is intended to prepare an event object for dispatchle.

In modern web development, initEvent is deprecated and may not be supported in all environments. The recommended approach is to create and initialize an event in one step using the Event constructor (or CustomEvent) with an options object. This aligns with current standards and improves readability and consistency across browsers.

Example (legacy approach):

var e = document.createEvent('Event');

e.initEvent('build', true, true);

element.dispatchEvent(e);

Example (modern approach):

var e = new Event('build', { bubbles: true, cancelable: true });

element.dispatchEvent(e);

See also: Event interface, CustomEvent, dispatchEvent, and the modern event construction pattern.