Why does "[value='']" throw an exception in IE7 and ":not(:not([value='']))" does not?

Question

I am trying to select the option label (option with value "") from a select box through jQuery. I use the following selector:

$("[value='']");

This works in most browsers, however in IE7 it throws an exception. If I change it to the following (imho equivalent) selector, then it works fine:

$(":not(:not([value='']))");

I'd prefer not to use the latter, but can't think a of better equivalent of the prior.

Edit:

jQuery version: 1.3.1.
Exception:
Microsoft JScript runtime error: Exception thrown and not caught
on

if(S==null){throw"Syntax error, unrecognized expression: "+ab}

where

ab = "value='']"

Test setup:

To ensure nothing of my other code caused the problem I have reproduced the error in the following situation:

<html>
    <head>
        <script type="text/javascript" src="jquery-1.3.1.js"></script>
        <script type="text/javascript">
            $(document).ready(function(){
                alert($("option[value='']").html());
            });
        </script>
    </head>
    <body>
        <select>
            <option value="">test</option>
            <option value="1">test1</option>
            <option value="2">test2</option>
        </select>
    </body>
</html>

Edit:

Link to bug report

@PiTheNumber actually you can turn on some lamps when the sun goes down. Just because you can't straight up change the how-to, doesn't mean you can't find a solution. — Nahydrin, Jan 23 '12 at 15:13
try jquery 1.7.1 . It has a whole bunch of bugs like this fixed. — vinczemarton, Jan 23 '12 at 15:27
You should upgrade to 1.3.2+ Have a look at this question: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/635240/selecting-all-empty-text-fields-in-jquery — MacMac, Jan 23 '12 at 15:28
@MatthijsWessels, why not? you could add jQuery 1.7.1 and use `noconflict` to have it continue to use `1.3` for whatever backwards compatibility you need, and use the newer jQuery for general-purpose code. — zzzzBov, Jan 23 '12 at 16:12
@zzzzBov, hmm, it's thousands of lines of code we're talking about here. So I have to be 100% sure that nothing falls over. Is the following what you mean:` `? — Matthijs Wessels, Jan 23 '12 at 22:26
@MatthijsWessels, if you're writing thousands of lines of JavaScript code for a single page, and worrying about jQuery dependencies, it sounds like you haven't organized your JS very well. — zzzzBov, Jan 23 '12 at 22:40
@zzzzBov, please, don't get me started. It's legacy and I have to deal with it. Every change I make, I try to improve something, while not breaking anything and taking a minimal amount of time. — Matthijs Wessels, Jan 24 '12 at 00:09
@zzzzBov, anyway thanks for pointing the noconflict thing out for me. It might come in handy. — Matthijs Wessels, Jan 24 '12 at 23:40

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered Jan 24 '12 at 09:44

2

I would like to recommend you to use the latest jQuery version, wich would solve your problem. But if you are using this version for a good reason you should try the following:

This should work in all browsers:

alert( jQuery( 'input[value=]' ) );

Tested with JSFiddle and no errors: http://jsfiddle.net/bobkruithof/WUVHj/

answered Jan 24 '12 at 09:44

halfpastfour.am

5,764
3
44
61

Thanks, seems that that will work, although I wonder if this will ever evaluate to "input[value]" which will return all elements with a value attribute. Btw, jsfiddle only let's me test against jQuery 1.3.2, where this bug is not present ([value=''] works fine). Nevertheless, I tested it in my test setup and your solution seems to work in 1.3.1. – Matthijs Wessels Jan 24 '12 at 10:42
AFAIK this will never evaluate to input[value], so you are safe :) – halfpastfour.am Jan 24 '12 at 14:25

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Jan 23 '12 at 15:10

0

Ideally it should not give you any error. Try specifying the tag type also $("input[value='']") assuming that you don't have any other elements to search with value attribute.

answered Jan 23 '12 at 15:10

ShankarSangoli

69,612
13
93
124

"Didn't work" means you still get the same error or it does not select the right elements? What elements do you have? – PiTheNumber Jan 23 '12 at 15:50
Still throws the same error. I have reproduced it in a test setting with minimal elements. I will update the question with my test setting. – Matthijs Wessels Jan 23 '12 at 15:57

Why does "[value='']" throw an exception in IE7 and ":not(:not([value='']))" does not?

Edit:

Test setup:

Edit:

2 Answers2