Passing a numeric variable to jQuery .load

Question

I am having a bit of a problem with the following:

function loadContent(id) {
     $("#featuredDiv").load("featuredDiv.php?list="+id);
     );
}

It all works fine when opening the URL with an ID of 21012011 like:

javascript:loadContent(28012011)

but when 04022011 is the id (javascript:loadContent(28012011)), it seems to change the number to 1057801.

I need the number to be passed through exactly as it is reading the page from a database. Does anyone have an idea what I am doing wrong?

Many thanks in advance!

I think you have an extra `);` in there – elwyn Feb 14 '11 at 21:25 — elwyn, Feb 14 '11 at 21:25

score 5 · Answer 1 · edited May 23 '17 at 12:23

5

That is because 04022011 is parsed by Javascript as an octal number.

Wrap the ID in quotes at all times and it will work.

edited May 23 '17 at 12:23

Community

1
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answered Feb 14 '11 at 21:26

Pekka

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Sorry for being a bit thick. I tried: $("#featuredDiv").load("featuredDiv.php?list="+'id'); but it didn't work – Oakesy Feb 14 '11 at 21:28
@Oak the value of `id` must be in quotes when you pass it: `loadContent('28012011');` But don't quote `id` itself – Pekka Feb 14 '11 at 21:30
Thanks Pekka, you're a ledgend! I can sleep tonight now :) – Oakesy Feb 14 '11 at 21:32

score 3 · Answer 2 · answered Feb 14 '11 at 21:29

The problem is the difference between decimal and octal notation.

For historical reasons, which have nothing to do with utility to modern programmers, a sequence of numbers starting with a 0 and containing no 8 or 9 characters is interpreted as an octal number. This means that it is treated as being in base-8, rather than base-10.

The octal 04022011 is 1057801 in decimal notation.

You can fix this by wrapping your number in quote marks (e.g. javascript:loadContent("28012011")): this will cause it to be interpreted as a string and passed directly into your URL.

However You appear to be using <a href="javascript:..."> links. This is bad practice. Look into an introduction to jQuery (e.g. jqfundamentals.com) to see optimal ways to bind actions to elements and events.

Thanks Lonesome, I will read up on the JQfundamentals right now. — Oakesy, Feb 14 '11 at 21:33
Wow, what an essay! :) +1 for detailed and verbose background. — Pekka, Feb 14 '11 at 21:33

Passing a numeric variable to jQuery .load

2 Answers2