Question

Is there a way to refactor something like this:

$("input[name='InputName1'],input[name='InputName2']").val("");

into something like this:

$("input[name='InputName1|InputName2']").val("");

Essentially, is it possible to select elements based on a set of attribute values without the repetitive parts of the selector?

Answer 1

The first version you have is about as short as it gets, ignoring the special case:

$("input[name^=InputName]")

I say special case because if you want arbitrary names it’s not like they’re going to have that convenient prefix all the time (I would assume).

Generally I try and avoid attribute selectors. I usually feel like I’ve failed if I have to resort to them. Try and use marker classes where possible so instead of:

$("input[name='InputName1'],input[name='InputName2']").val("");

you give them both a class of “reset” and do:

$("input.reset").val("");