Why Does `chrome.extension.sendRequest` Fail with a \'Converting circular structure to JSON\' Error?

Unveiling the Circular Reference Error in 'chrome.sendRequest'

When invoking 'chrome.extension.sendRequest', you may encounter the perplexing "TypeError: Converting circular structure to JSON" error. This error often arises when the object you pass in the request (typically stored in 'pagedoc') contains a circular reference.

A circular reference occurs when an object in 'pagedoc' refers to itself, or to another object within 'pagedoc', creating an infinite loop. For instance, you might define nested properties like this:

var a = {};
a.b = a;

In this scenario, JSON.stringify cannot encode the circular structure because it would result in an infinite loop when attempting to serialize the object.

DOM Nodes and Circular References

Notably, DOM nodes often contain circular references, even if they are not connected to the DOM tree. Each node possesses an 'ownerDocument' property that typically points to the 'document' object. The 'document' object, in turn, has multiple references back to the DOM tree via 'document.body' and 'document.body.ownerDocument'. This circularity is inherent in the hierarchical structure of the DOM.

Therefore, when dealing with DOM nodes in your 'chrome.sendRequest' request, ensure that you address any circular references to prevent this issue.

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