How to get the selected date value while using Bootstrap Datepicker?

Question

Using jquery and the Bootstrap Datepicker, how do I get the new date value I selected using the Bootstrap Datepicker? FYI, I\'m using Rails 3 and Coffescript.

I set

Answer 1

Generally speaking,

$('#startdate').data('date') 

is best because

$('#startdate').val()

not work if you have a datepicker "inline"