How to Update Text Content without Affecting Child Elements in JavaScript and jQuery?

Text Manipulation: Preserving Child Elements

Question:

How can I dynamically update an element's text without affecting its child elements? Consider the following HTML:

<div>
   **text to change**
   <someChild>
       text that should not change
   </someChild>
   <someChild>
       text that should not change
   </someChild>
</div>

As a beginner in jQuery, find a suitable function or selector to accomplish this task without introducing an additional text container.

Answer:

While jQuery offers advanced methods for such manipulation, a solution is also possible using vanilla JavaScript. The childNodes property provides access to all nodes within an element, including text nodes.

For example, if the text to be changed is always the first element of the div, this code can be employed:

var divElement = document.getElementById('your_div');
var textNode = divElement.childNodes[0];

textNode.nodeValue = 'new text';

Alternatively, jQuery can be used to target the div and obtain the reference to the text node:

var divElement = $('your_div').get(0);
var textNode = divElement.childNodes[0];

textNode.nodeValue = 'new text';

This method effectively updates the text content while maintaining the original structure and contents of the child elements.

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