What does 'event bubbling' mean in the context of web components?

In the context of web components, 'event bubbling' refers to the process in which an event that occurs on a specific element first triggers any event listeners on that element itself, and then propagates upward through the DOM tree to its parent elements. This means that if an event is generated by a child element, it travels up to its parent elements, allowing them to react to the event as it goes.

This behavior enables a structured way to handle events in a hierarchical manner, meaning that parent elements can handle events triggered by their children without requiring explicit event listeners on each child. This mechanism is particularly useful for event delegation, as it allows a single event listener on a parent element to manage events for multiple child elements.

Understanding event bubbling is crucial for developers when constructing interactive web applications, as it impacts how events are captured, handled, and how they affect the behavior of user interfaces.