Question

If I have an element with

data-something="+5"

and try:

alert($(el).data('something')); //gives 5, not +5...

how can I retrieve the original value?

Answer 1

To quote the jquery manual, regarding the extraction of data-attributes for access with .data() –

Every attempt is made to convert the string to a JavaScript value (this includes booleans, numbers, objects, arrays, and null) otherwise it is left as a string. To retrieve the
value’s attribute as a string without any attempt to convert it, use the attr() method.

It looks like your +5 is being interpreted as the positive integer 5.