a bit OT but,

you see i'm writing a web app. now in writing a complex web app one of course 
requires some dynamic content. the curse to man that the only option for this 
is javascript! --undoubtedly the worst language ever invented by man! i have 
now spent the last three hours trying to do one thing: change the text in a 
table cell. how god aweful! worse is that i am actually pretty expierenced 
with this mess of syntax that i now calling javacrap.

this is essentially my table cell:

	<td>Text<input type="hidden" name="aname" value="Text"></td>

thus the problem: i can change what's in <td> with .innerHTML but then i 
overwrite the <input> tag as well. but it is important that the input tag is 
there b/c that's how i locate the table cell (document.form.aname.parentNode) 
can't find a better solution (innerText is seems only work with IE) than to 
write a little string disector that will pull off the input tag and add it 
back in. frigi'n sick.

the bottom line is quite simple: javascript and DOM SUCK THE BIG ONE. i would 
say that over 50% of my dev time actually goes into dealing with these little 
javacrap issues.

so why are there not alternatives to this mess? where's RubyScript with an 
REXML like interface to the underlying content? where? we have a gazillion 
alternatives for server-side scripting, but One for client-side. what's wrong 
with this picture?

anyway, anyone have a better solution. i really don't want to hack it like 
i've suggested, although is prob a clever what to do it with regexp 
substitution (well, maybe, let me check this 800 pound manual)

-transami