283646 - Can't get "document.forms.elementName" if form's name is "forms"

Status: RESOLVED WORKSFORME

(Core :: DOM: Core & HTML, defect)

Description

[HARUNAGA Hirotoshi]

If a form's name is "forms", "document.forms.xxx" has no properties on
nightly build.

Steps:
1. go to the URL
2. click "test"

Result:
returns "undefined".

No problem if a form's name is "form".
http://bugzilla.mozilla.gr.jp/attachment.cgi?id=2612&action=view

WFM with Mozilla 1.7.5 and Firefox 1.0.
regression.

Comment 1

[Boris Zbarsky [:bzbarsky]]

The behavior seems correct to me... See discussion in bug 240633 (which is where
the "regression" comes from).  document.forms should be the forms array, not a
particular DOM node.

Comment 2

[HARUNAGA Hirotoshi]

Yes, the behavior of Safari 1.2.4 is same as current Mozilla.
But this works with IE 6.0, Opera 7.54, Netscape 4.7x and Mozilla 1.7.5
and some major site uses this legacy script...
ex.
http://www.ecat.sony.co.jp/avacc/headphone/spec_compare.cfm?B2=92&B3=399
(in Japanese, sorry)

Comment 3

[Boris Zbarsky [:bzbarsky]]

In IE, document.forms can be both the form and the forms array at the same time,
last I checked (test document.forms[0] to see whether I'm mis-remembering)...

That said, we do have some inconsistencies here.  For example, I can name a node
"getElementById" and have it accessible via document.getElementById, but I can't
use "forms"....  We should pick one or the other and do it.

Comment 4

[WADA:World Anti-bad-Duping Agency]

Test result on the test case (<form name="forms">)
 javascript:x=document.forms;y=document.forms[0];alert(x+" / "+y);
 returned:
  (1.7.5) HTMLFormElement / HTMLInputElement
          "forms" was NAME.
          document.forms[array-position] format("forms" as reserved word)
          was not usable to get FormElement on 1.7.5
          if user defined form named "forms".
  (1.8x)  HTMLCollection  / HTMLFormElement
          "forms" was reserved word.
          document.forms.xxx format("forms" as user defined name)
          was not usable on 1.8.x when user defined form named "forms".
          document.forms["forms"] worked as expected.
  (IE 6)  forms / input1
          undefined
            (javascript:x=document.forms;y=document.forms[0];      )
            (           alert(x.name+" / "+y.name);                ) 
            (           z=document.forms["forms"]; alert(z);       ) 
          IE6 returned FormElement for document.forms
          when form named "forms" is defined.
          And document.forms[XX] ("forms" as reserved word) was not usable.
          This is same behaviour as 1.7.5.

Both "document.forms('forms' as reserved word)" and "document.forms('forms' as
form element name)" are array(HTMLCollection and HTMLFormElement)
then '[' can not be a key to distinguish,
although "getElementById" can be distinguished by '('.
Boriss, can support both way when user defined "form named 'forms'"?

I prefer 1.8.x way to 1.7.5 way, because no need of care on reserved word when
using DOM-0 way(document.forms[FORM-NAME].elements[...]).
But killing of reserved word of "forms" for document.forms like IE is reasonable
if "Quriks mode" and if user defined form element named "forms", for
compatibility reason, because this kind of HTML is usually tested on IE only.

Comment 5

[Boris Zbarsky [:bzbarsky]]

> Boriss, can support both way when user defined "form named 'forms'"?

I'm not sure what you're asking.

It's also not clear to me what the IE behavior is, according to you...

Comment 6

[WADA:World Anti-bad-Duping Agency]

(In reply to comment #5)
> I'm not sure what you're asking.
My question was:
When user defined form named "forms" and forms named others, 
   <form name="forms">           <input name="input1"></form>
   <form name="NORMAL_FORM_NAME"><input name="input2"></form>
can Mozilla support access thru document.forms.input1 ('.forms' as user defined
form name) without breaking access thru
document.forms["NORMAL_FORM_NAME"].input2 ('.forms' as reserved word), or vice
versa?
(Similar question on <input name="links">, <img name='images">, ...)

It's possible if hierarchical variable name for compiler(which permits override
of reserved word and permits ambigous variable name specification. eg. PL/I).
But this is object. "document.forms" can't be ambigous...
Sorry for my silly question.

Comment 7

[Boris Zbarsky [:bzbarsky]]

> can Mozilla support access thru document.forms.input1 ('.forms' as user defined
> form name) without breaking access thru
> document.forms["NORMAL_FORM_NAME"].input2 ('.forms' as reserved word), or vice
> versa?

Not really, given that document.forms needs to be either a form object or a list
of forms object.  Can't really be both...

Comment 8

[baffclan]

cannot reproduce with Firefox/20110611-Nightly/WinXP.

WFM?

Comment 9

[Liviu Cirdei]

User Agent 	Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; Win64; x64; rv:48.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/48.0
Build ID 	20160324153548

Could not reproduce on current Firefox release (v. 45.0.1) nor on latest Nightly (48.0a1), so closing this as WFM. If anyone can reproduce on a current build, fell free to reopen the bug.