jQuery, pass a variable to append()

Question

This one works, actually:

$('.open-submenu > a').append("<span class='open-submenu-sym'>+</span>");

I would like to change the former to:

var open-string = "<span class='open-submenu-sym'>+</span>";
$('.open-submenu > a').append(open-string);

but it seems not working...I tried also $('.open-submenu > a').append('' + open-string); and $('.open-submenu > a').append("" + open-string); but still doesn't work...is it possible to accomplish that?

Answer 1

The variable name is invalid since it includes - in your variable name. To make it valid replace the - character from the variable name.

var open_string = "<span class='open-submenu-sym'>+</span>";
$('.open-submenu > a').append(open_string);

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For more info : What characters are valid for JavaScript variable names?

MDN Docs : Variables

Answer 2

Your variable name is invalid because of the - character, which isn't allowed in JavaScript variable names.

Change to:

var openString = "<span class='open-submenu-sym'>+</span>";
$('.open-submenu > a').append(openString);

Remember to check the console for errors, because this will be producing an error which helps to find the problem:

Uncaught SyntaxError: Unexpected token -