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JavaScript jQuery Basics (2014) Creating a Simple Lightbox Perform: Part 3

Dayne Wright
Dayne Wright
11,235 Points
Posted by Dayne Wright
Dayne Wright
11,235 Points

How does it know to put the <img> inside the <div>?

var $overlay = $('<div id="overlay"></div>');
var $image = $("<img>");

$overlay.append($image);

//Add overlay
$("body").append($overlay);

In the example above, how does jQuery know to put the img inside of the div?

2 Answers

Michael Hulet
Michael Hulet
47,912 Points
Michael Hulet
Michael Hulet
47,912 Points

When you're declaring your $overlay & $image variables, don't think of them as simple strings. Think of them as actual HTML elements that you haven't yet added to your page's DOM. The append function of jQuery puts one element inside another, after everything that's already in the element you're inserting something into. In this case, you have a new div, which you're calling the append function on, and you're telling that div to add an img to the very end of everything that's already in it