Jquery - Can I place my jquery code in a script at the end of the html body?

Question

Will the DOM definitely be ready if I place my jquery code right before the </body> tag?

I have some jquery code and when I put it in the $.ready() function I can see a flash of what the page looks like before the javascript code is run.

However, if I put the code right before the </body> tag then I only see what the page looks like after the javascript is run. I used timers to see the time difference, and the code put before the end of the </body> executed 300ms sooner than the code in $.ready.

EDIT:If the DOM is reliably ready when i call my code before the </body> tag, what is the benefit to putting my code in $.ready, considering that my javascript will execute sooner if I put it before </body>?

Answer 1

Yes, the DOM is ready by then, but you still can't be sure that you don't see a flash of the page in it's original state.

If you have something that shouldn't be visible in the page from start, you can use CSS in a style sheet to hide it initially, instead of hiding it using jQuery. That way you will be sure that there will not be a flash of the elements before you have a chance to hide them.

Answer 2

I'm 99% sure that it will work on the DOM that is in existance before the <script> tag. This means that if it's before </body>, it will work.

I'd be curious to see if it ever worked on something after the closing </script>. Like maybe the internet loaded the page faster than the processor could begin the JavaScript code... I doubt it thought because if you do document.write, it should be at the same point where the <script></script> is at.