Chapter 2. Selecting the elements upon which to act
This chapter covers
- Selecting elements to be wrapped by jQuery using selectors
- Creating and placing new HTML elements in the DOM
- Manipulating the wrapped element set
In the previous chapter, we discussed the many ways that the jQuery function can be used. Its capabilities range from the selection of DOM elements to defining functions to be executed when the DOM is loaded.
In this chapter, we’ll examine (in great detail) how the DOM elements to be acted upon are identified by looking at two of the most powerful and frequently used capabilities of jQuery’s $() function: the selection of DOM elements via selectors and the creation of new DOM elements.
A good number of the capabilities required by interactive web applications are achieved by manipulating the DOM elements that make up the pages. But before they can be manipulated, they need to be identified and selected. Let’s begin our detailed tour of the many ways that jQuery lets us specify which elements are to be targeted for manipulation.