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JavaScript

James Koppenal
PLUS
James Koppenal
Courses Plus Student 9,285 Points
Posted by James Koppenal
James Koppenal
Courses Plus Student 9,285 Points

Why use a $ in the variable as oppose to using without it? Any difference? And what is the best practice?

var $select = $("<select></select>");

$("#menu").append($select);

OR

var select = $("<select></select>");

$("#menu").append(select);

2 Answers

Jacob Mishkin
Jacob Mishkin
23,117 Points
Jacob Mishkin
Jacob Mishkin
23,117 Points

A $, is an alias for jQuery. Some people prefer to put a dollar sign together with the variable to make a distinction between regular vars and jQuery objects.

Zachary Billingsley
Zachary Billingsley
6,187 Points
Zachary Billingsley
Zachary Billingsley
6,187 Points

Hello!

Typically you don't see symbols at the beginning of javascript variables. While it does still work, I would advise against it. If you are mixing javascript and php code, the variables may look similar and get confusing (since php variables are denoted by a "$"). $ is also used in most jQuery code, like you have above, so it is an easy indication of when you are using jQuery instead of plain javascript.

Hope that helps!