Why isn't backspace being detected using jquery keypress event?

Question

Why isn\'t backspace being detected using jquery keypress event?

$(\"#field\").keypress(function(event){alert(event.which);});

Answer 1

The "keypress" event is (in its original IE form, and in Safari/Chrome) about an actual character being added to a text field. The backspace key clearly does not add a new character to the field value, so it causes no keypress event.

Firefox and Opera are a little more willy-nilly about generating typing events.

PPK (quirksmode) considers the IE and Webkit behaviors to be the sensible ones, and I pretty much agree.