I just discovered the hard way that the jQuery .data() method is horribly broken. By design, it attempts to convert whatever you put into it into a native type.
I've got a template where I'm generating a button with a data-key element:
http://jsfiddle.net/KwjvA/
It looks like a float where one could assume that 1.4000 === 1.4, but what I really want here is the string 1.4000. I certainly don't want my input to be modified. One suggestion I found in the issue tracker is to put single quotes around the field (ie: data-key="'1.4000'"). That seems rather absurd as well.
The only reason why I'm warning about this here is that I've seen a bunch of libraries using .data() to store stuff in elements in the DOM. I think it is a really bad idea to have a method called .data() where you expect to be able to store something in it and be able to get back out exactly what you put into it.
The recommended alternative is to use .attr(). The problem with this is that while it achieves the same effect, it is actually much different functionality from .data(). .data() stores information within an internal cache within jQuery, while .attr() calls element.setAttribute().
I read through several bug reports on the jQuery website, where people are also confused by this behavior and all of them get closed with a wontfix. I see this as a terrible choice. Yuck.![]()
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I've got a template where I'm generating a button with a data-key element:
<button id="fooButton" data-key="1.4000">Click me to edit</button>http://jsfiddle.net/KwjvA/
It looks like a float where one could assume that 1.4000 === 1.4, but what I really want here is the string 1.4000. I certainly don't want my input to be modified. One suggestion I found in the issue tracker is to put single quotes around the field (ie: data-key="'1.4000'"). That seems rather absurd as well.
The only reason why I'm warning about this here is that I've seen a bunch of libraries using .data() to store stuff in elements in the DOM. I think it is a really bad idea to have a method called .data() where you expect to be able to store something in it and be able to get back out exactly what you put into it.
The recommended alternative is to use .attr(). The problem with this is that while it achieves the same effect, it is actually much different functionality from .data(). .data() stores information within an internal cache within jQuery, while .attr() calls element.setAttribute().
I read through several bug reports on the jQuery website, where people are also confused by this behavior and all of them get closed with a wontfix. I see this as a terrible choice. Yuck.
