Question

I’m looking for a concise way to compare two arrays for any match.

I am using this comparison to apply a particular style to any table cell that has matching content. One array is a static list of content that should be contained in at least one table cell on the page. The other array is being generated by JQuery, and is the text of all table cells.

The reason why I have to compare content to apply style is that the HTML document will semantically change over time, is being generated by different versions of excel (pretty awful looking code), and this script needs to accommodate that. I know that the content I’m looking to apply the style to in this document will never change, so I need to detect all matches for this content to apply styles to them.

So, the code should be something like (in english):

for each table cell, compare cell text to contents of array. If there is any match, apply this css to the table cell.

This is what I have so far (and I know it’s wrong):

$(document).ready(function(){
    $("a.loader").click(function(event){
         event.preventDefault();
         var fileToLoad = $(this).attr("href");
         var fileType = $(this).text();
         var makes = new Array("ACURA","ALFA ROMEO","AMC","ASTON MARTIN","ASUNA","AUDI","BENTLEY","BMW","BRITISH LEYLAND","BUICK","CADILLAC","CHEVROLET","CHRYSLER","CITROEN","COLT","DACIA","DAEWOO","DELOREAN","DODGE","EAGLE","FERRARI","FIAT","FORD","GEO","GMC","HONDA","HUMMER","HYUNDAI","INFINITI","INNOCENTI","ISUZU","JAGUAR","JEEP","KIA","LADA","LAMBORGHINI","LANCIA","LAND ROVER","LEXUS","LINCOLN","LOTUS","M.G.B.","MASERATI","MAYBACH","MAZDA","MERCEDES BENZ","MERCURY","MG","MINI","MITSUBISHI","MORGAN","NISSAN (Datsun)","OLDSMOBILE","PASSPORT","PEUGEOT","PLYMOUTH","PONTIAC","PORSCHE","RANGE ROVER","RENAULT","ROLLS-ROYCE / BENTLEY","SAAB","SATURN","SCION","SHELBY","SKODA","SMART","SUBARU","SUZUKI","TOYOTA","TRIUMPH","VOLKSWAGEN","VOLVO","YUGO","Acura","Alfa Romeo","Amc","Aston Martin","Asuna","Audi","Bentley","Bmw","British Leyland","Buick","Cadillac","Chevrolet","Chrysler","Citroen","Colt","Dacia","Daewoo","Delorean","Dodge","Eagle","Ferrari","Fiat","Ford","Geo","Gmc","Honda","Hummer","Hyundai","Infiniti","Innocenti","Isuzu","Jaguar","Jeep","Kia","Lada","Lamborghini","Lancia","Land Rover","Lexus","Lincoln","Lotus","M.G.B.","Maserati","Maybach","Mazda","Mercedes Benz","Mercury","Mg","Mini","Mitsubishi","Morgan","Nissan (Datsun)","Oldsmobile","Passport","Peugeot","Plymouth","Pontiac","Porsche","Range Rover","Renault","Rolls-Royce / Bentley","Saab","Saturn","Scion","Shelby","Skoda","Smart","Subaru","Suzuki","Toyota","Triumph","Volkswagen","Volvo","Yugo");
         $("div#carApp").html("<img src='images/loadingAnimation.gif' alt='LOADING...' />");
         $("div#carApp").load(fileToLoad, function(){
             $("#carApp style").children().remove();
             $('#carApp td').removeAttr('style');
             $('#carApp td').removeAttr('class');
             $('#carApp table').removeAttr('class');
             $('#carApp table').removeAttr('style');
             $('#carApp table').removeAttr('width');
             $('#carApp tr').removeAttr('style');
             $('#carApp tr').removeAttr('class');
             $('#carApp col').remove();
             $('#carApp table').width('90%');
             var content = $("#carApp table td");
             jQuery.each(content, function() {
                 var textValue = $(this).text();
                 if (jQuery.inArray(textValue, makes)==true)
                    $(this).css("color","red");
             });
         });
    });
});

Any ideas?

Answer 1

You’re checking $.inArray(...) == true. inArray actually returns an integer with the index of the item in the array (otherwise -1.) So you want to check if it is greater than or equal to 0.

Here’s how you can change your each loop.

$('#carApp td').each(function () {
    var cell = $(this);
    if ($.inArray(cell.text(), makes) >= 0) {
        cell.addClass('selected-make');
    }
});

I use a CSS class instead of the style attribute, because it’s better practice to put styling in a CSS file rather than in your JavaScript code. Easier to update that way (especially when you want to apply the same style in multiple places in your code.)

Other points worth noting:

• jQuery selections have the each(...) function as well. So you can do $(...).each(...) instead of jQuery.each($(...), ...)
• jQuery and $ are the same object as long as you don’t have other frameworks that redefine the $ variable. Therefore you can do $.inArray(...) instead of jQuery.inArray(...). It’s a matter of taste, though.