Question

I’ve been reading about replacing jQuery live() functions with on(), but they only work the same way as non-live functions.

For example, using the $('a').on('click', function(){}); has the same effect as using: $('a').click(function(){});

I need to replicate the functionality of $('a').live('click', function(){});
because I’m adding elements to the page dynamically.

Answer 1

You need to provide a selector:

$('#container').on('click', 'a', function(){})

Where #container is the id of the static parent of all the relevant anchors.
Try to attach the on to the closest static parent.

on docs:

if selector is omitted or is null, the event handler is referred to as
direct or directly-bound. The handler is called every time an event
occurs on the selected elements, whether it occurs directly on the
element or bubbles from a descendant (inner) element.

When a selector is provided, the event handler is referred to as
delegated. The handler is not called when the event occurs directly on
the bound element, but only for descendants (inner elements) that
match the selector. jQuery bubbles the event from the event target up
to the element where the handler is attached (i.e., innermost to
outermost element) and runs the handler for any elements along that
path matching the selector.