JQuery get the nth element of array

Question

$('#button').click(function() {
   alert($('.column').val());
});

How could I get the first, second, or third element in .column?

Answer 1

$('#button').click(function() {
    alert($('.column').eq(0).val()); // first element
    alert($('.column').eq(1).val()); // second
    alert($('.column').eq(2).val()); // third
});

Answer 2

I like selector strings, so I usually do this:

$('.column:eq(3)') // Fourth .column element

Answer 3

Use the Slice() function: http://api.jquery.com/slice/

See question: How to select a range of elements in jQuery

$('.column').slice(0, 2).each(function() {
    $(this).val();  /* my value */
});