$(selector, context) documentation clarification

[[email protected]…]

In the documentation the context in a search has to be:

context A DOM Element, Document, or jQuery to use as context

However, a selector string also seems to work, and people use it that way, e.g.:

$('a', '.container')

The option to use a selector should be included in the documentation, or if that option is unintended and unwanted, an example on how to use a selector as context by creating a jQuery object from it, i.e.:

$('a', $('.container'))

An example where such a use would be plausible:

function getLinks(parentSelector) {
  return $('a', $(parentSelector))
}

getLinks('.container').css('color','red');

[dmethvin]

People may use it that way, but should we encourage and support it? I don't see a reason to do so. $(".container a") is a lot more obvious than $("a", ".container").

Since it's a docs issue I'll close this ticket and mark it needsdocs for later discussion.

[anonymous]

If you feel that it should not be supported, why did you close the ticket?

The code does support it, and if that is not desired, it should be changed.

[dmethvin]

When I say "encourage and support" I mean in terms of best practices. Yes it works, and I am not advocating we change the behavior. I am simply saying it is a convoluted way of doing something so I would prefer not to encourage it.

That's why the ticket is marked needsdocs, needing discussion about documentation. There is no change required to the code, so the ticket can be closed and the documentation addressed later.