[javascript] How to add a class to a given element?

Assuming you're doing more than just adding this one class (eg, you've got asynchronous requests and so on going on as well), I'd recommend a library like Prototype or jQuery.

This will make just about everything you'll need to do (including this) very simple.

So let's say you've got jQuery on your page now, you could use code like this to add a class name to an element (on load, in this case):

$(document).ready( function() {
  $('#div1').addClass( 'some_other_class' );
} );

Check out the jQuery API browser for other stuff.