HTML5: from documents to applications - HTML5 in Action - page 20

Listing 1.5. html5-microdata.html—Microdata in action

The HTML5 specification also defines a DOM API that you can use to dynamically re-
trieve and modify microdata items using JavaScript. Descriptions of the API are provided
in table 1.3 .

Table 1.3. The microdata DOM API

Method/property Description

Gets all elements that are top-level microdata items (elements with an item-
scope attribute). You can use the types argument to filter by one or more item-
type attribute values.

document.getItems([types])

Gets all item properties (those elements with an itemprop attribute) for a given
microdata item (element).

element.properties

element.itemValue [= value] Gets or sets the value of an item property.

Using microdata is an excellent way to improve how your application (or document) looks
in search results. In the next section, you'll learn how you can use CSS3 to make your ap-
plication visually stunning with the new styles and effects it has to offer.