Understanding Event Bubbling vs. Capturing in JavaScript

Navigating the Path of Event Propagation in the DOM

Max N
2 min readApr 10, 2024

Ever wondered why clicking a button triggers more than just that button’s event? Let’s unravel the mystery of event bubbling and capturing in JavaScript, two essential concepts for mastering event handling in web development.

What’s the Deal with Event Bubbling and Capturing?

Event bubbling and capturing describe how events propagate through the Document Object Model (DOM) in a web page. Understanding these mechanisms is key to building robust and responsive web applications.

Event Bubbling: Rising Up the DOM Tree

When an event occurs on an element, like a click on a button, it doesn’t just stop there. Instead, the event ‘bubbles’ up through the DOM, triggering event handlers on each ancestor element.

Event Capturing: Descending Down the DOM Tree

Conversely, event capturing starts from the outermost ancestor element and travels down to the target element, triggering event handlers along the way.

Let’s See It in Action:

// Event Bubbling Example…

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Max N

A writer that writes about JavaScript and Python to beginners. If you find my articles helpful, feel free to follow.