How do I get a jQuery selector's expression as

Question

I have a jQuery selector, which has a chained function.

Inside the function I want to get access to the TEXT representing the expression for the selector.

$("cat dog").function() {

    // how do I get access to the "cat dog" string from inside THIS function ?
};

I've over simplified in this code sample what I actually want to do. I'm writing a plug-in and I need access to the selector for which the wrapped set has been created. Obviously in this particular example I have access to "cat dog" becasue i wrote it. So just picture this being in a plugin.

Its a little tricky to google for this.

edit: the 'selector' property is unfortunately now deprecated. http://jquery.com/upgrade-guide/1.9/#selector-property-on-jquery-objects

Answer 1

There is a 'selector' attribute in the jQuery object, but I'm not sure it's always available.

Answer 2

For those who want to get inside their plugins selector string given to jQuery, I am glad to have improved the great answer given by @Pim Jager:

1. As of now (latest version 3.2.1) there are 3 arguments in jQuery.fn.init function - selector, context, root - not two;
2. new keyword should be added to the return statement of jQuery.fn.init;
3. Inside your plugin the selectors are returned as a string by calling $(this).getSelector();

Finally, that's what I've got to work for me like a charm:

(function($, window, document, undefined) { 
    $.fn._init = $.fn.init
    $.fn.init = function( selector, context, root ) {
        return (typeof selector === 'string') ? new $.fn._init(selector, context, root).data('selector', selector) : new $.fn._init( selector, context, root );
    };
    $.fn.getSelector = function() {
        return $(this).data('selector');
    };
    $.fn.YOUR-PLUGIN = function() {
        var selector = $(this).getSelector(); // selectors string given to jQuery 
        // other code
    }
})(jQuery, window, document);

It works with jQuery versions as far as I am concerned (from 1.7.0 to 3.2.1).

PS. Works fine even with jQuery 1.2.3 available here on stackoverflow too. So, I guess, the following is ok for all jQuery versions if you want to get a jQuery selector's expression as text inside the plugin:

// our plugin
(function($, window, document, undefined) { 
    $.fn._init = $.fn.init
    $.fn.init = function( selector, context, root ) {
        return (typeof selector === 'string') ? new $.fn._init(selector, context, root).data('selector', selector) : new $.fn._init( selector, context, root );
    };
    $.fn.getSelector = function() {
        return $(this).data('selector');
    };
    $.fn.coolPlugin = function() {
        var selector = $(this).getSelector(); 
        if(selector) console.log(selector); // outputs p #boldText
    }
})(jQuery, window, document);

// calling plugin
$(document).ready(function() {
    $("p #boldText").coolPlugin();
});

<script src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.2.3/jquery.min.js"></script>
<p>some <b id="boldText">bold text</b></p>