Implement MooTools’ Elements.addEvent in jQuery

By  on  

One thing that I've always disliked about the jQuery JavaScript framework is its syntax for adding event listeners to elements. The way to add a click event to an element using jQuery is:

$('#myElement').click(function() {
	//do work
});

I love OOP so the above code tells me that a click is being triggered, not that it's going to add a listener to the element. There's nothing wrong with jQuery using that syntax; I simply don't prefer it. What I do when I need to work with jQuery is Moo-ify its syntax when I can. Here's how you can implement MooTools' "addEvent" syntax in MooTools.

The jQuery JavaScript

jQuery.fn.addEvent = jQuery.fn.bind; //updated

We add the "addEvent" function to the jQuery.fn object. Pretty simple.

The Usage

$(document).ready(function() {
	$('#myElement').addEvent('click',function(){ alert('w00t'); });
});

Looks a lot like MooTools, no? If you like jQuery's syntax of .click() type events, read my post: Implementing jQuery-Like Event Syntax in MooTools

Recent Features

  • By
    Regular Expressions for the Rest of Us

    Sooner or later you'll run across a regular expression. With their cryptic syntax, confusing documentation and massive learning curve, most developers settle for copying and pasting them from StackOverflow and hoping they work. But what if you could decode regular expressions and harness their power? In...

  • By
    CSS Gradients

    With CSS border-radius, I showed you how CSS can bridge the gap between design and development by adding rounded corners to elements.  CSS gradients are another step in that direction.  Now that CSS gradients are supported in Internet Explorer 8+, Firefox, Safari, and Chrome...

Incredible Demos

  • By
    NSFW Blocker Using MooTools and CSS

    One of my guilty pleasures is scoping out the latest celebrity gossip from PerezHilton.com, DListed.com, and JoBlo.com. Unfortunately, these sites occasionally post NSFW pictures which makes checking these sites on lunch a huge gamble -- a trip to HR's office could be just a click away. Since...

  • By
    Create an Animated Sliding Button Using MooTools

    Buttons (or links) are usually the elements on our sites that we want to draw a lot of attention to. Unfortunately many times they end up looking the most boring. You don't have to let that happen though! I recently found a...

Discussion

  1. More concise :

    jQuery.fn.addEvent = jQuery.fn.bind;

  2. Well put Pierre…well put.

  3. I too prefer verbs like el.setStyle v. el.css. But swapping syntax would totally goof me up!

  4. I don’t get it, why not just use

    $('#myelement').bind('click', function() {...});
    

    It’s even shorter than ‘addEvent’

  5. I agree with Corey, $().bind is exactly what you’re looking for…

  6. Bo Hunter

    I would have to agree, this is nothing more than an alias.

  7. Mysteriously enough in jQuery version 1.4 I get this:

    $(“#website_stock”).addEvent is not a function

    When I set it as just click(fn) it works in Firefox, but not in IE8. It doesn’t return any errors – just the functions do NOT run whatsoever. Same with the bind() option – works in FF on mac, not on IE8.

  8. Pradeep

    Hi David,
    In this site, the two sides with name older and newer and toggle in-out,how to implement it please send me the complete demo with code if possible.
    Thanks in advance

Wrap your code in <pre class="{language}"></pre> tags, link to a GitHub gist, JSFiddle fiddle, or CodePen pen to embed!