MutationObserver: Listen Indefinitely On Changing Element

indefinite_mutation_observer.js

  // support multiple browsers
  // http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2844565/is-there-a-jquery-dom-change-listener/11546242#11546242
  MutationObserver = window.MutationObserver || window.WebKitMutationObserver;
  var elementId = 'some-id';
  // instantiate initial observer
  var observer = new MutationObserver(observeIndefinitely(elementId));
  observer.observe(document.getElementById(elementId), {
    // expensive, only use what's needed of these
    attributes: true,
    childList: true,
    subtree: true,
    characterData: true
  });

  function observeIndefinitely (id) {
    return function (mutations, observer) {
      // do stuff...
        
      observer.disconnect();
      // re-select the element and set up a subsequent observer
      var nextObserver = new MutationObserver(observeIndefinitely(id));
      nextObserver.observe(document.getElementById(id), {
        // expensive, only use what's needed of these
        attributes: true,
        childList: true,
        subtree: true,
        characterData: true
      });
    };
  }