Get Class List for Element with Jquery

Get class list for element with jQuery

As a JavaScript developer, you may often come across the need to retrieve the class list for a specific element on a web page. This can be useful in various scenarios, such as manipulating the styling or behavior of an element based on its classes. In this blog post, we will explore different ways to achieve this using jQuery.

Method 1: Using the .attr() method

One way to get the class list for an element with jQuery is by using the .attr() method. This method allows you to retrieve the value of an attribute for a selected element. In our case, we can use it to get the value of the class attribute and then split it into an array of classes.

var element = $('.target-element');
var classList = element.attr('class').split(' ');
console.log(classList);

In the above code snippet, we first select the target element using a jQuery selector and store it in the element variable. Then, we use the .attr() method to get the value of the class attribute and split it into an array using the split() method. Finally, we log the class list to the console for demonstration purposes.

Method 2: Using the .hasClass() method

Another approach to obtain the class list for an element is by utilizing the .hasClass() method. This method allows you to check if a specific class exists on an element. By iterating over all the classes and checking if each one exists, we can build the class list.

var element = $('.target-element');
var classList = [];

element.attr('class').split(' ').forEach(function(className) {
  if (element.hasClass(className)) {
    classList.push(className);
  }
});

console.log(classList);

In the code snippet above, we first select the target element and initialize an empty array called classList. We then split the class attribute value into an array of classes and iterate over each class using the forEach() method. Inside the loop, we check if the element has the current class using the .hasClass() method, and if it does, we add it to the classList array. Finally, we log the class list to the console.

Conclusion

Retrieving the class list for an element with jQuery is a common task in web development. In this blog post, we explored two different methods to achieve this. The first method involved using the .attr() method to get the value of the class attribute and splitting it into an array. The second method utilized the .hasClass() method to iterate over the classes and build the class list. Depending on your specific use case, you can choose the method that best suits your needs.