How do I filter the returned data from jQuery.ajax()?

When using the jQuery.ajax() method, I am struggling to filter the data that is returned to get exactly what I need. I know this is easy using .load() and probably the other jQuery AJAX methods but I need to use .ajax() specifically.

For example I know that this works;

var title = $(data).filter('title'); // Returns the page title

But what if I just want the contents of a div with id="foo"?

var foo = $(data).filter('#foo'); // None of these work
var foo = $(data).find('#foo');   //
var foo = $('#foo', data);        //

Ideally, I want one method into which I can pass a normal jQuery selector, which will work for selecting titles, divs, or any other element that jQuery can select. This is so that I can pass in any string into my own ajax function - eg;

myApp.ajax({
    url: 'myPage.html',
    filterTitle: 'title',
    filterContent: '#main-content'
});

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Solution 1:

The use of filter() vs. find() depends on the structure of your retrieved HTML page. For example, if this is the retrieved page:

<!DOCTYPE html>

<html>

<head>
    <title>Foo</title>
</head>

<body>
    <div id="wrap">
        <div id="header">
            <h1>Foo</h1>
        </div>
        <div id="body"> content </div>
    </div>
    <div id="tooltip"> tooltip </div>
</body>

</html>

If you want to select the top-level elements = elements that are direct children of <body> - in this example: #wrap or #tooltip - then you have to use filter().

If you want to select other elements - in this example: #header, <h1>, #body, ... - then you have to use find().

I you don't know whether your element is a child of <body> or not, you could use this "hack":

$("<div>").html(data).find( selector );

By using this work-around, you always get the elements via find().

Solution 2:

The jQuery.load method uses the following code:

// If successful, inject the HTML into all the matched elements
if ( status === "success" || status === "notmodified" ) {
  // See if a selector was specified
  self.html( selector ?
    // Create a dummy div to hold the results
    jQuery("<div />")
      // inject the contents of the document in, removing the scripts
      // to avoid any 'Permission Denied' errors in IE
      .append(res.responseText.replace(rscript, ""))

      // Locate the specified elements
      .find(selector) :

    // If not, just inject the full result
    res.responseText );
}

I.e it appends the full response to a DIV it creates, and then uses find(selector) on that.

So you should be looking at something like:

var foo = $('<div />').html(data).find('#foo'); // This looks like it'll work!

Bit of a hack from jQuery's point of view!

Solution 3:

This is how I was able to get it working thanks to @Matt

$.ajax({
    type: "GET",
    url: url,
    dataType: 'html',
    success: function(data) {
        $('#foo').html(
            $('<div />').html(data).find('#foo').html()
        );
    }
});

How do I filter the returned data from jQuery.ajax()?

Solution 1:

Solution 2:

Solution 3:

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