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introduction

Let’s look at a basic task in web development: updating a web page.But we’re not talking about the classics F5 or CTRL+R here. Instead, update the page programmatically using JavaScript and jQuery. This is a useful technique when a “hard” refresh is required.

Why refresh a page programmatically?

There are various cases where this can be beneficial. For example, you can automatically reload the page when a certain event occurs, or refresh the page after a certain interval to get the latest data from the server. This is especially useful in dynamic applications (such as live news feeds or real-time dashboards) where the content is frequently updated, but for some reason does not update asynchronously via AJAX.

Refresh the page using plain JS

Let’s start with simple old JavaScript. The easiest way to update a page using JavaScript is location.reload() Method. This can be used with just one method call:

location.reload();

When this code runs, it will reload the current page. It’s that simple! However, be aware that this will refresh the entire page, so any unsaved changes to your form inputs will be lost.

Refresh the page using jQuery

Next, let’s see how to update the page using jQuery. Although jQuery does not have a built-in method to refresh the page, you can easily do so using JavaScript. location.reload() Method.

Actually, jQuery doesn’t have a built-in method for refreshing a page, but you can instead use some of its events to know when to refresh. for example:

$("#refresh-button").click(function() 
    location.reload();
); 

Here I am refreshing the page when the user clicks the “refresh button”.

Common errors and how to fix them

When updating web pages using JavaScript or jQuery, you may encounter some common errors. Let’s take a look at some of them and their solutions.

Infinite page update loop

This occurs when the page update code is placed in a location where it runs every time the page is loaded. The refresh command reloads the page, so you get stuck in an endless loop of updates.

// This will cause an infinite loop of page refreshes
window.onload = function() 
  location.reload();

To avoid this, make sure you have a condition that allows you to break the loop.

// This will refresh the page only once
if (!window.location.hash) 
  window.location = window.location + '#loaded';
  window.location.reload();

Uncaught TypeError: location.reload() is not a function

This error is location.reload() Methods on objects that don’t have it.For example, if you make a mistake when calling location.reload() With jQuery objects I get this error.

$('#myDiv').location.reload(); // Uncaught TypeError: $(...).location is not a function

To fix this, make sure you’re on the phone location.reload() the correct object, i.e. window or location object.

window.location.reload(); // Correct usage

conclusion

In this Byte, we learned how to update pages using JavaScript and jQuery. We’ve also covered some common errors that can occur when refreshing a page and how to fix them. Use with caution, as refreshing the page will cause all unsaved changes to be lost and is not necessarily a good experience for the user.