jquery.height() and float parameter in CSS

Question

I'd noticed a strange behaviour of jquery.height() function. Have a look at the following code.

CSS:

div.text-field {
    font-family: sans-serif;
    margin: 3px;
    float: left;
}

HTML:

<div id="someid">
  <div class="text-holder">
    <div class="text-field">text here</div>
  </div>
</div>

JS:

console.log($("someid").find("text-holder").height());

The last line outputs 0 if I have float: left; in CSS file, and otputs real height if I remove float: left;. What is the reason of such a behaviour? Can I use height() function together with float: left;?

Answer 1

When float elements are within a container, that element does not apply the height of the container, because the element is no longer in the "flow". It is removed from the current element, and applied to it's parent, hence the issue. You can fix it by using either inline-block, or clear: both