Is it bad practice to use the html class attribute as a javascript handle

Question

I often need to select multiple elements at once with jquery... to do this I usually just add a class to all the elements I'd like to select and then use jquery to select by class.

Is this a bad practice or should I use something like the html 5 data attribute instead?

Answer 1

I would say it's okay for a general reference where no arguments need to be passed.

i.e. All .flashing elements will have a flash effect applied to it. The end.

It gets out of hand when you start using multiple classes or "data classes", like class="flashing-15times onhoveronly", etc...

Once you need to start passing arguments or variables, you should move towards data attributes or other OOP methods.

Answer 2

It's excellent practice. It's what the class attribute is for. Always remember that the class attribute is part of the semantic layering of HTML, for flagging groups of objects with a common property, and not a part of CSS. It's the CSS selectors that provide the binding between the semantics of HTML and the presentation of CSS. And flagging groups of objects with a common property is exactly what you are doing.

Just make sure that you use a meaningful name for the collection of objects you want to gather together to apply your jquery action to.