Question

I have a div and a list with some items in it:

<div id="myDiv">
<ul>
    <li><a>Item 1</a></li>
    <li><a>Item 2</a></li>
    <li><a>Item 3</a></li>
</ul>

How could I easily make a Javascript array of the ‘a’ elements knowing that the number of items may change?

Answer 1

If you want a static list:

var mylist = $('#myDiv > ul > li > a').toArray();

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But you wrote “…knowing that the number of items may change”. If this means you want a “live list” that updates with DOM changes, then do this:

var mylivelist = document.getElementById("myDiv")
                         .getElementsByTagName("a");

This list will update when items are added or removed. It makes the assumption that there are no other <a> elements in the <div>. If there are, you’ll need to adjust.