Is there an “exists” function for jQuery?

Question

How can I check the existence of an element in jQuery?

The current code that I have is this:

if ($(selector).length > 0) {
    // Do something
}
<         


        

Answer 1

Here is my favorite exist method in jQuery

$.fn.exist = function(callback) {
    return $(this).each(function () {
        var target = $(this);

        if (this.length > 0 && typeof callback === 'function') {
            callback.call(target);
        }
    });
};

and other version which supports callback when selector does not exist

$.fn.exist = function(onExist, onNotExist) {
    return $(this).each(function() {
        var target = $(this);

        if (this.length > 0) {
            if (typeof onExist === 'function') {
                onExist.call(target);
            }
        } else {
            if (typeof onNotExist === 'function') {
                onNotExist.call(target);
            }
        }
    });
};

Example:

$('#foo .bar').exist(
    function () {
        // Stuff when '#foo .bar' exists
    },
    function () {
        // Stuff when '#foo .bar' does not exist
    }
);