Retrieves a value that indicates the current state of the object.

Syntax

HTML	N/A
Scripting	[ sState = ] object.readyState

Possible Values

sState

String that receives one of the following values. uninitialized Object is not initialized with data. loading Object is loading its data. loaded Object has finished loading its data. interactive User can interact with the object even though it is not fully loaded. complete Object is completely initialized.

The property is read-only. The property has no default value.

Remarks

An object's state is initially set to uninitialized, and then to loading. When data loading is complete, the state of the link object passes through the loaded and interactive states to reach the complete state.

The states through which an object passes are determined by that object; an object can skip certain states (for example, interactive) if the state does not apply to that object.

Data source objects and databound elements are normally populated asynchronously, and certain programmatic operations can only be performed reliably on databound objects when they are ready for use. Therefore, the appropriate code should be written to confirm the readyState of objects prior to performing certain operations on them. For example, walking the rows of a table should not be attempted until after the table has reached the complete state.

The readyState property enables the status of an object to be tested. The correct place to test the readyState property is in the event handler for onreadystatechange. Similarly, a data source object (DSO) fires the ondatasetcomplete event to notify the Web page that the dataset is ready for programmatic operation.

Standards Information

There is no public standard that applies to this property.

Applies To

document, FRAME, IFRAME, IMG, INPUT type=button, INPUT type=checkbox, INPUT type=file, INPUT type=hidden, INPUT type=image, INPUT type=password, INPUT type=radio, INPUT type=reset, INPUT type=submit, INPUT type=text, LINK, SCRIPT, TABLE, TBODY, TD, TFOOT, TH, THEAD, TR, Element Constructor, HTMLDocument Constructor

See Also

onreadystatechange