Using jQuery objects in jQuery selectors

Question

I'm fairly new to jQuery, and think I might be making something harder than it needs to be. I've got a jQuery variable that is just an unordered list. It was declared this way:

var $list = $('#activityList'); // activityList is ID of <ul>

I'm trying to select all <li> elements within that list using the variable I've created:

$items = $('#' + $list.attr('id') + ' > li');

Does anyone know if there's a different syntax to achieve the same thing without having to break the variable down to it's id attribute?

Thanks.

Clarification: I used simplified code for the purposes of asking the question, but I do want to make use of the jQuery variable "$list" within the selector, rather than hardcoding the ID.

Because it makes it easier to identify jQuery objects withing a large block of js code. — Kevin Peno
– Kevin Peno, Commented Dec 17, 2009 at 21:25

Daniel A. White · Accepted Answer · 2009-12-17 21:08:24Z

5

$items = $('li', $list);

That should do what you are looking for.

answered Dec 17, 2009 at 21:08

Daniel A. White

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5 Comments

Wesley Petrowski Over a year ago

Should actually be $('li', $list) - no # before the li. :)

Wesley Petrowski Over a year ago

Also worth noting that you can pass either a jQuery object or a DOM object as the context.

MegaMatt Over a year ago

Now will this answer get me only the li elements that are direct descendants, or will it retrieve all ancestors? What if I did this: $items = $('> li', $list). Would that work?

Kevin Peno Over a year ago

It will select items just like the normal context EXCEPT it will be filtered to only children and decendents of the context

cobbal Over a year ago

also, $list.find('li') is equivalent

Brian Mains · Accepted Answer · 2009-12-17 21:14:54Z

3

$("#activitylist > li") would work, as > traverses content. You can also use, with $list as a JQuery object:

$list.find("li") or $list.children("li") to find the list items as well. children would be more efficient if you are only looking for immediate children.

answered Dec 17, 2009 at 21:14

Brian Mains

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1 Comment

Kevin Peno Over a year ago

+1 for find/children as it is functionality equivilant to the dominant answer.

Kyle · Accepted Answer · 2009-12-17 21:08:38Z

1

Try this:

var items = $('#activityList > li');

answered Dec 17, 2009 at 21:08

Kyle

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Comments

theraccoonbear · Accepted Answer · 2009-12-17 21:09:36Z

0

Maybe I'm misunderstanding, but what's wrong with...

var $items = $('#activityList > li');

answered Dec 17, 2009 at 21:09

theraccoonbear

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1 Comment

Kevin Peno Over a year ago

Nothing is wrong with it, you just already have the context to search in ($list) so why not save some processing and start there? ;)

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