Question

I am using .each() to iterate over the links in the jQuery object $firstParagraph. As I iterate over the links, I would like to refer to them in an absolute way, without calling $(this) which creates a new object each time it is called. Because when I iterate twice independently over the links (as shown in the code below), then the work done in both instances is not combined.

$firstParagraph = $("p").eq(0);

// Iterate over the links once
$firstParagraph.find("a").each( function()
    {
        $this = $(this);
        // Modify $this
    });

// Iterate over the links a second time
$firstParagraph.find("a").each( function()
    {
        $this = $(this);
        // I want to modify $this again, but without loosing
        // the work I did in the first iteration
    });

Answer 1

Instead of going violently against the grain of jQuery like you’re asking, let me advise you how to do what you actually need to do: use $(this).data('somekey', someval) and $(this).data('somekey') to, instead of directly modifying $(this) as an object and so losing whatever you’re trying to do, attach data to your concept of $(this) in such a way that you’ll be able to get it back. (Docs here.)