prototype/src/position.js

var Position = {
  // set to true if needed, warning: firefox performance problems
  // NOT neeeded for page scrolling, only if draggable contained in
  // scrollable elements
  includeScrollOffsets: false, 

  // must be called before calling withinIncludingScrolloffset, every time the
  // page is scrolled
  prepare: function() {
    this.deltaX =  window.pageXOffset 
                || document.documentElement.scrollLeft 
                || document.body.scrollLeft 
                || 0;
    this.deltaY =  window.pageYOffset 
                || document.documentElement.scrollTop 
                || document.body.scrollTop 
                || 0;
  },

  realOffset: function(element) {
    var valueT = 0, valueL = 0;
    do {
      valueT += element.scrollTop  || 0;
      valueL += element.scrollLeft || 0; 
      element = element.parentNode;
    } while (element);
    return [valueL, valueT];
  },

  cumulativeOffset: function(element) {
    var valueT = 0, valueL = 0;
    do {
      valueT += element.offsetTop  || 0;
      valueL += element.offsetLeft || 0;
      element = element.offsetParent;
    } while (element);
    return [valueL, valueT];
  },

  positionedOffset: function(element) {
    var valueT = 0, valueL = 0;
    do {
      valueT += element.offsetTop  || 0;
      valueL += element.offsetLeft || 0;
      element = element.offsetParent;
      if (element) {
        if(element.tagName=='BODY') break;
        var p = Element.getStyle(element, 'position');
        if (p == 'relative' || p == 'absolute') break;
      }
    } while (element);
    return [valueL, valueT];
  },
  
  offsetParent: function(element) {
    if (element.offsetParent) return element.offsetParent;
    if (element == document.body) return element;

    while ((element = element.parentNode) && element != document.body)
      if (Element.getStyle(element, 'position') != 'static')
        return element;

    return document.body;
  },
  
  // caches x/y coordinate pair to use with overlap
  within: function(element, x, y) {
    if (this.includeScrollOffsets)
      return this.withinIncludingScrolloffsets(element, x, y);
    this.xcomp = x;
    this.ycomp = y;
    this.offset = this.cumulativeOffset(element);

    return (y >= this.offset[1] &&
            y <  this.offset[1] + element.offsetHeight &&
            x >= this.offset[0] && 
            x <  this.offset[0] + element.offsetWidth);
  },

  withinIncludingScrolloffsets: function(element, x, y) {
    var offsetcache = this.realOffset(element);

    this.xcomp = x + offsetcache[0] - this.deltaX;
    this.ycomp = y + offsetcache[1] - this.deltaY;
    this.offset = this.cumulativeOffset(element);

    return (this.ycomp >= this.offset[1] &&
            this.ycomp <  this.offset[1] + element.offsetHeight &&
            this.xcomp >= this.offset[0] && 
            this.xcomp <  this.offset[0] + element.offsetWidth);
  },

  // within must be called directly before
  overlap: function(mode, element) {  
    if (!mode) return 0;  
    if (mode == 'vertical') 
      return ((this.offset[1] + element.offsetHeight) - this.ycomp) / 
        element.offsetHeight;
    if (mode == 'horizontal')
      return ((this.offset[0] + element.offsetWidth) - this.xcomp) / 
        element.offsetWidth;
  },

  page: function(forElement) {
    var valueT = 0, valueL = 0;

    var element = forElement;
    do {
      valueT += element.offsetTop  || 0;
      valueL += element.offsetLeft || 0;

      // Safari fix
      if (element.offsetParent==document.body)
        if (Element.getStyle(element,'position')=='absolute') break;

    } while (element = element.offsetParent);

    element = forElement;
    do {
      if (!window.opera || element.tagName=='BODY') {
        valueT -= element.scrollTop  || 0;
        valueL -= element.scrollLeft || 0;
      }
    } while (element = element.parentNode);

    return [valueL, valueT];
  },

  clone: function(source, target) {
    var options = Object.extend({
      setLeft:    true,
      setTop:     true,
      setWidth:   true,
      setHeight:  true,
      offsetTop:  0,
      offsetLeft: 0
    }, arguments[2] || {})

    // find page position of source
    source = $(source);
    var p = Position.page(source);

    // find coordinate system to use
    target = $(target);
    var delta = [0, 0];
    var parent = null;
    // delta [0,0] will do fine with position: fixed elements, 
    // position:absolute needs offsetParent deltas
    if (Element.getStyle(target,'position') == 'absolute') {
      parent = Position.offsetParent(target);
      delta = Position.page(parent);
    }

    // correct by body offsets (fixes Safari)
    if (parent == document.body) {
      delta[0] -= document.body.offsetLeft;
      delta[1] -= document.body.offsetTop; 
    }

    // set position
    if(options.setLeft)   target.style.left  = (p[0] - delta[0] + options.offsetLeft) + 'px';
    if(options.setTop)    target.style.top   = (p[1] - delta[1] + options.offsetTop) + 'px';
    if(options.setWidth)  target.style.width = source.offsetWidth + 'px';
    if(options.setHeight) target.style.height = source.offsetHeight + 'px';
  },

  absolutize: function(element) {
    element = $(element);
    if (element.style.position == 'absolute') return;
    Position.prepare();

    var offsets = Position.positionedOffset(element);
    var top     = offsets[1];
    var left    = offsets[0];
    var width   = element.clientWidth;
    var height  = element.clientHeight;

    element._originalLeft   = left - parseFloat(element.style.left  || 0);
    element._originalTop    = top  - parseFloat(element.style.top || 0);
    element._originalWidth  = element.style.width;
    element._originalHeight = element.style.height;

    element.style.position = 'absolute';
    element.style.top    = top + 'px';
    element.style.left   = left + 'px';
    element.style.width  = width + 'px';
    element.style.height = height + 'px';
  },

  relativize: function(element) {
    element = $(element);
    if (element.style.position == 'relative') return;
    Position.prepare();

    element.style.position = 'relative';
    var top  = parseFloat(element.style.top  || 0) - (element._originalTop || 0);
    var left = parseFloat(element.style.left || 0) - (element._originalLeft || 0);

    element.style.top    = top + 'px';
    element.style.left   = left + 'px';
    element.style.height = element._originalHeight;
    element.style.width  = element._originalWidth;
  }
}

// Safari returns margins on body which is incorrect if the child is absolutely
// positioned.  For performance reasons, redefine Position.cumulativeOffset for
// KHTML/WebKit only.
if (/Konqueror|Safari|KHTML/.test(navigator.userAgent)) {
  Position.cumulativeOffset = function(element) {
    var valueT = 0, valueL = 0;
    do {
      valueT += element.offsetTop  || 0;
      valueL += element.offsetLeft || 0;
      if (element.offsetParent == document.body)
        if (Element.getStyle(element, 'position') == 'absolute') break;
        
      element = element.offsetParent;
    } while (element);
    
    return [valueL, valueT];
  }
}