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Asked: 2026-05-18T00:40:21+00:00

I have this basic example: <!doctype HTML> <html> <head> <script src=jquery-1.4.2.min.js type=text/javascript></script> <script> $(document).ready(function(){

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I have this basic example:

<!doctype HTML>
<html>
<head>
    <script src="jquery-1.4.2.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
    <script>
        $(document).ready(function(){
            $("#showAction").click(function(){
                alert($("#myForm").attr("action"));
            });
        });
    </script>
</head>
<body>
<form id="myForm">
    <input type="text" name="action" value="myAction" />
</form>
<input type="button" value="click me" id="showAction" />
</body>
</html>

When you click ‘click me’ you can see the tag 

$("#myForm").attr("action");

Doesn’t actually return an attribute of the element. It returns the child of the form with the name “action”.

Is this expected behavior? Is this a bug in jQuery?

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1 Answer

  1. Editorial Team

    It’s a “bug” introduced by Netscape a long time ago (a boneheaded move, IMO), where form.action is a property because an element with that name is a child of the <form>. So no, it’s not really a jQuery bug, but a JavaScript one, depending on your point of view…jQuery just doesn’t have any additional checks for these cases.

    To be safe, don’t name your elements "action" or "submit", since it can mess with form.submit() as well.

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