Question

I want to create a Javascript switch based on an array I’m creating from a query string. I’m not sure how to proceed.

Let’s say I have an array like this :

var myArray = ("#general","#controlpanel","#database");

I want to create this…

switch(target){
            case "#general":
                $("#general").show();
                $("#controlpanel, #database").hide();
            break;
            case "#controlpanel":
                $("#controlpanel").show();
                $("#general, #database").hide();
            break;
            case "#database":
                $("#database").show();
                $("#general, #controlpanel").hide();
            break;  
        }

myArray could contain any amount of elements so I want the switch to be created dynamically based on length of the array. The default case would always be the first option.

The array is created from a location.href with a regex to extract only what I need.

Thanks alot!

Answer 1

@Michael has the correct general answer, but here’s a far simpler way to accomplish the same goal:

// Once, at startup
var $items = $("#general,#controlpanel,#database");

// When it's time to show a target
$items.hide();     // Hide 'em all, even the one to show
$(target).show();  // OK, now show just that one

If you really only have an array of selectors then you can create a jQuery collection of them via:

var items  = ["#general","#controlpanel","#database"];
var $items = $(items.join(','));

Oh, and “Thanks, Alot!” 🙂