Change element ID, but jQuery still fires event calling old ID. Why does this work?

Question

I created a fiddle to try to debug a problem I'm having where once I rearrange html elements with jQuery, hover events on those elements don't work anymore.

However, I came across this interesting situation here: http://jsfiddle.net/4yv1trj4/

I have a main div that changes color once I hover over it.

$("#block").hover(function() {
     $(this).css("backgroundColor", "red");
}, function() {
    $(this).css("backgroundColor", "#888");        
});

If you click the button, the main div's ID changes to block2:

$("#block").attr("id","block2");

but $("#block").hover() still fires when I hover over #block2. Also, all hover calls on #block2 do not work. Is there a fundamental principle of how jQuery works that would explain this?

Answer 1

When you do this:

$("#block").hover(function() {
    $(this).css("backgroundColor", "red");
}, function() {
    $(this).css("backgroundColor", "#888");        
});

you're telling jQuery to look for the element with the block ID and bind the hover event to it. Once this is done, the event will remain bound to that element, no matter what happens to its ID afterwards.

That is, unless you have some code that unbinds it, of course.

Answer 2

As an extension to lucasnadalutti's answer: It's worth noting that you can add the binding to the container and yield the result you expect:

Example:

$("body").on("mouseenter", "#block", function () {
    $(this).css("backgroundColor", "red");
}).on('mouseleave', "#block", function () {
    $(this).css("backgroundColor", "#888");
});

Notice the binding on the body, not the actual element. A trick to keep in your back pocket.

Demo: jsFiddle

---

Update:

From the comment section, it's clear a warning is needed - you should bind to the nearest element on the page. body was used here as a simple example.

Although I think this solution would suit you elegantly, you should read Should all jquery events be bound to $(document)? before you start abusing that power.