How to Use querySelector to Select Elements by Class Suffix in JavaScript

Learn how to effectively use `querySelector` to identify HTML elements with classes that end with a specific string, even when multiple classes are present.
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This video is based on the question https://stackoverflow.com/q/77058333/ asked by the user 'Mihai Alexandru-Ionut' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/6583140/ ) and on the answer https://stackoverflow.com/a/77058390/ provided by the user 'Konrad' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/5089567/ ) at 'Stack Overflow' website. Thanks to these great users and Stackexchange community for their contributions.

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How to Use querySelector to Select Elements by Class Suffix in JavaScript

When working with HTML and JavaScript, selecting elements dynamically is a common task. One of the most useful methods for this is querySelector, which allows developers to utilize CSS selectors to find elements in the DOM. However, there can be challenges when trying to select an element based on a class that ends with a particular string, especially when the element has multiple classes. In this guide, we will explore how to effectively use querySelector to achieve this.

Understanding the Problem

Imagine you have a simple <div> element with a specific class, as shown below:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

If you want to select this element based on the condition that its class ends with -row, you can achieve this with the following code:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

This works perfectly. However, let's consider a scenario where the element has additional classes:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Now, this approach may not yield the expected result since the querySelector method is called with a condition that requires a class name to end with -row, regardless of any other classes present. Thus, how do we modify our querySelector to accommodate this condition effectively?

The Solution

To resolve this issue and select an element that has at least one class ending in -row, we can use the *= CSS attribute selector instead. Here's how it works:

Using the *= Selector

The *= selector matches any class name that contains a specified substring, which means we can use it to filter out other classes that may not end with -row.

While this might also match instances where -row is part of a longer class name, it still helps in identifying elements with the desired suffix. Here’s the code you can employ:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Important Considerations

Broad Matching:

The use of *= may not strictly ensure that the class name ends with -row. For example, this could also select classes like someclass-rows or -row, which might not be desirable.

Implementation:

When implementing this in a larger JavaScript application, consider additional filtering logic to ensure you’re only operating on the classes you want.

Summary

While querySelector with the $= operator is indeed powerful for matching classes that end with a certain string, it can lead to complications with multiple classes on an element. The *= selector provides a broader matching approach and can help you select elements containing the desired substring. Just be mindful of potential false positives, and tweak your implementation as necessary.

By understanding these selectors and how to use them effectively, you can simplify your code and improve the efficiency of your JavaScript DOM manipulations. Happy coding!

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