Can someone explain this seeming inconsistency in jQuery/Javascript?? (trailing brackets inconsistency on reads)

Question

So, in my example below, "InputDate'" is an input type=text, "DateColumn" is a TD within a table with a class of "DateColumn".

Read the value of a discreet texbox:

var inputVal = $('#InputDate').val();

Read the value of a div within a table....

This works:

$('#theTable .DateColumn').each(function() {
  var rowDate = Date.parse($(this)[0].innerHTML);
});

This doesn't:

$('#theTable .DateColumn').each(function() {
  var rowDate = Date.parse($(this)[0].innerHTML());
});

The difference is the "()" after innerHTML. This behavior seems syntactically inconsistent between how you read a value from a textbox and how you read it from a div. I'm ok with sometimes, depending on the type of control, having to read .val vs .innerHTML vs.whateverElseDependingOnTheTypeOfControl...but this example leads me to believe I now must also memorize whether I need trailing brackets or not on each property/method.

So for a person like me who is relatively new to jQuery/Javascript....I seem to have figured out this particular anomaly, in this instance, but is there a convention I am missing out on, or does a person have to literally have to memorize whether each method does or does not need brackets?

Answer 1

innerHTML is javascript, and is a property of an element. If you'd like to stick with the jQuery version of doing things, use html():

$('#theTable .DateColumn').each(function() {
  var rowDate = Date.parse($(this).html() );
});

edit: a bit more clarification about your concerns. jQuery is pretty consistent in it's syntax. Basically, most of the methods you find allow read/write access by adjusting the parameters passed to the method.

var css = $('#element').css('color'); // read the color of the element
$('#element').css('color', 'red'); // set the color to "red"

var contents = $('#element').html(); // grab the innerHTML of the element
$('#element').html('Hello World'); // set the innerHTML of this element

Answer 2

.innerHTML is a property of the element not a method.

Property reference Example: object.MyProperty

Method Example: object.SomeFunction();