Finding column index using jQuery when table contains column-spanning cells

Question

Using jQuery, how can I find the column index of an arbitrary table cell in the example table below, such that cells spanning multiple columns have multiple indexes?

Answer 1

Here's a plugin which can calculate the 'noncolspan' index.

$(document).ready(
        function()
        {
        console.log($('#example2').getNonColSpanIndex()); //logs 4
        console.log($('#example1').getNonColSpanIndex()); //logs 2
    }

);

$.fn.getNonColSpanIndex = function() {
    if(! $(this).is('td') && ! $(this).is('th'))
        return -1;

    var allCells = this.parent('tr').children();
    var normalIndex = allCells.index(this);
    var nonColSpanIndex = 0;

    allCells.each(
        function(i, item)
        {
            if(i == normalIndex)
                return false;

            var colspan = $(this).attr('colspan');
            colspan = colspan ? parseInt(colspan) : 1;
            nonColSpanIndex += colspan;
        }
    );

    return nonColSpanIndex;
};