Question

I would like to know how I could use jQuery inside a native prototype function of the String object for instance.

I’ve tried:

String.prototype.jQ = function() {
    var $currentObject = $( this );

    return ( $currentObject.length ) ? $currentObject.val() : this;
};

var test = "#txtEmail";
alert( test.jQ() );

With no luck. Any suggestion?

I am perfectly aware that I could use $( test ).val() but I would like to know if I can do it my way.

Thanks!

Answer 1

Oddly enough, jQuery only accepts primitive string values as selectors, not String objects, which is what this is in a String prototype method. You can use .valueOf() to get the primitive:

String.prototype.jQ = function() {
    var $currentObject = $(this.valueOf());

    return $currentObject.length ? $currentObject.val() : this;
};

Here’s a demo.