jQuery/Javascript - finding a string from an unordered list is in an array

Question

I'm trying to compare text in an unordered list to an array that I created by grabbing contents in a string then parsing it. I cannot seem to get the comparison part of my jQuery code to work where I check to see if the string lives within the array. Any suggestions?

HTML

<span id="Subjects">Commercial Law & Contracts, Immigration Law, International Law & Trade, Products Liability</span>
<ul id="SubjectList">
  <li>Administrative Law</li>
  <li>Agriculture Updates</li>
  <li>Alternative Dispute Resolution</li>
  <li>Antitrust & Trade Regulation</li>
  <li>Commercial Law & Contracts</li>
  <li>Immigration Law</li>
  <li>International Law & Trade</li>
  <li>Products Liability</li>
</ul>

JQuery Code

var subject_passed = $('#Subjects').text();
var subjectArray = new Array();
subjectArray = subject_passed.split(',');   

$('#SubjectList li').each(function(){  
    if ($.inArray($(this).text(), subjectArray) != -1) {
        alert('hello');
    }
});

The strings in your array have spaces, you may want to trim those away. — user400654
– user400654, Commented Jun 26, 2012 at 21:48

broesch · Accepted Answer · 2012-06-26 22:11:08Z

1

You could try:

var subject_passed = $('#Subjects').text();
//var subjectArray = new Array(); //not really needed as split returns new a array
var subjectArray = subject_passed.split(', '); //add a space to split

$('#SubjectList li').each(function(){  
   if ($.inArray($(this).text(), subjectArray) !== -1) { //better to use !== for comparison
     alert('hello');
   }
});

edited Jun 26, 2012 at 22:11

answered Jun 26, 2012 at 21:51

broesch

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1 Comment

Anna Over a year ago

Oh snap. Thanks! That's exactly what I needed to get it to work. I hate it when I'm so close yet so far.

mVChr · Accepted Answer · 2012-06-26 21:53:41Z

1

You should use $.trim() to remove the outer whitespace from the text values after the split and during the comparison:

var subject_passed = $('#Subjects').text();
var subjectArray = subject_passed.split(','); 
$.each(subjectArray, function(i, el){
    subjectArray[i] = $.trim(el);
});

$('#SubjectList li').each(function(){  
    if ($.inArray($.trim($(this).text()), subjectArray) != -1) {
        $(this).addClass('highlight');
    }
});

See demo

answered Jun 26, 2012 at 21:53

mVChr

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1 Comment

Anna Over a year ago

Definitely. I did use trim in my code in the end. Thanks for the help!

65Fbef05 · Accepted Answer · 2012-06-26 21:51:27Z

0

Add a space after the comma in the following line...

subjectArray = subject_passed.split(', ');

answered Jun 26, 2012 at 21:51

65Fbef05

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