Question

How can I select a named input like this properly in jQuery without assigning ID’s?

<input name="person[first]" type="hidden">
<input name="person[last]" type="hidden">

// Seems to be acting on multiple hidden elements instead of this named one
// This sets the value of both of those hidden elements in some cases
$("input[type=hidden][name=person[first]]").val('Test');

// So I've changed it to this. Is there a better way?
$("input[name=person[first]]").val('Test');

Answer 1

Put the attribute value in quotes…

$("input[type=hidden][name='person[first]']").val();
   // ---------------------^-------------^

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From the docs for attribute-equals-selector…

attribute An attribute name.

value An attribute value. Can be either an unquoted single word or a quoted string.

Since you have more than just a single word, it should be quoted.