Initial

This method clones  and replace childs.

The removed select element is simply discarded and the memory is free by the browser when doing garbage collection, a new one is shallow cloned from the old one and inserted back into the page.

This method is an effective option for very large, medium or small select boxes.

Author: ethush

clearSelectOptions.js

@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+// This function clear all the options in an HTML select statement
+// Provide the 'id' of the select element
+// References to old select will become invalidated
+// Returns a reference to the new select object
+
+function clearSelectOptionsFast(id) {
+  var select = document.getElementById('idtoClean')
+  var selectParentNode = select.parentNode
+  var newSelectObj = select.cloneNode(false)
+  selectParentNode.replaceChild(newSelectObj, select)
+  //Use this line if you don't want use a return reference function 
+  //select = newSelectObj
+  return newSelectObj
+}
+
+// This is an alternative, simpler method.
+// It does appear to be a fast method
+// Tested in Firefox 
+function clearSelectOptionsFastAlt(id) {
+  document.getElementById(id).innerHTML = "";
+}