function getElement( selector ) {
	var split = selector.split(" ");
	var el = document;
	var len = split.length;
	var type, name;
	for( var i = 0; i < len; i++ ) {
		try {
			name = split[ i ];
			type = name[ 0 ];
			name = name.substr( 1, name.length - 1 );
			switch( type ) {
				case "#":
					el = goog.dom.getElement( name, el );
					break;
				case ".":
					el = goog.dom.getElementByClass( name, el );
					break;
				default:
					el = null;
			}
		} catch( e ) {	
			el = null;
			throw( "Error with getElement using selector: " + selector + ", error: " + e );
		}
	}
	if ( el == document ) el = null;
	return el;
}

The Google Closure lets you get DOM elements with getElement( id ) and getElementByClass( class ).  This function combines the two to let you get elements similarly to the way jQuery does.  E.g. getElement( '#home .sidebar #links') returns the element with an id of 'links', within the element of class 'sidebar', within the element of id 'home'.

Get DOM element via class and id selector, using Google Closure

javascript, google, DOM

JavaScript