FAQ Topic - How do I communicate between frames in a web browser?

[FAQ server]

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FAQ Topic - How do I communicate between frames in a web
browser?
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To reference another frame, you simply need to step through the
frame hierarchy: « parent » is the page the frame is defined
in, « parent.framename » is another frame in the same frameset.
To access a variable called Moomin in a frame called Snork you
would use « parent.Snork.Moomin ». To call the function Snufkin
in that frame you would use « parent.Snork.Snufkin() ».


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[Evertjan.]

FAQ server wrote on 14 feb 2007 in comp.lang.javascript:

To reference another frame, you simply need to step through the
frame hierarchy: « parent » is the page the frame is defined

[..]

Shouldn't that be:

window.parent [just parent for short]

?

In general the FAQ should show complete references like:

document.location.href = '...'

 

[VK]

In general the FAQ should show complete references like:

document.location.href = '...'

window.location.href = "..."

document.location should not be used for assignment.
That is one of exceptions to simply memorize to speak the language
properly:

parent-parents but child - children (English language)

return false to prevent default action - but return true to prevent
default action for
1) onerror, 2) onmouseover (for status change), 3) omouseout (for
status change)

read property either from window.location or document.location - but
change property
only over window.location

As any historical exception each one has its own explanation which
modern speaker should not be bothered with. For the curious ones - and
skipping on English exceptions -

onerror and status bar change are among the first handlers with pre-
historic event model in mind which is gone long ago except these. In
that model the logic was pretty much reversed against the current one.
Currently:
- Proceed with default action?
- No (false)

Pre-historic one:
- Prevent default action?
- Yes (true)

With location object historically (DOM 0) it was implemented for both
window and document objects but it was read/write for window and read-
only for document. The original intent of it is a bit obscure.
Possibly it reflects early ideas of how to implement multi-document
display - which is later went by other way to become frames. Unlike
handlers exception this one is almost gone out of use so on many
modern UAs document.location is write-allowed as well. Still there are
UAs following the old grammar, one of them is Safari.
This way a modern speaker should always use window.location form and
never document.location to be properly understood by everyone.