Which jQuery method is better: “.attr('data-thing');” or “.data('thing');”

Question

Which one is better:

$(\'div\').attr(\'data-stuff\');

or

$(\'div\').data(\'stuff\');

After having a discu

Answer 1

Taking what all people have said into consideration, here is "the answer":

.data is better because:

1. it's slightly shorter to type.
2. It can protect you from possible future changes to data structure (although unlikely).

.attr is better because:

1. it loads nearly 3 times faster.

I think I will continue using .attr myself, but thank you all for this information :)