How to properly author or create a JQuery plugin that supports HTML data-*attributes?

Question

I am currently creating a JQuery Plugin that support data-attributes for defining options. I scoured the internet for sources on how to propery do it, but cannot find any.

What I have done so far:

HTML:

 <table id="myTable" data-columns='[{ "header": "Header1" },
                { "header": "Header2" },
                { "header": "Header3" }]'>
    </table>

Plugin:

 $.fn.myPlugin = function () {
        columns:""

    }
    var self = $(this)
    var foo = self.data("columns")

    //..some code to create columns

Plugin Usage:

$("#myTable").myPlugin()

You don't have to do anything; jQuery already understands the attributes, and will in fact parse them for you. That self.data() call will return an array of objects. — Pointy
– Pointy, Commented Nov 24, 2022 at 0:54
Also, in a plugin (unlike a callback to a jQuery method), you don't have to write $(this), because this will point to the jQuery object and not an individual element. In fact, the standard practice for a plugin that could operate meaningfully on more than one matched element in the jQuery object should use a .each() loop, and also of course return the jQuery object as its result so that it can be used in a call chain. — Pointy
– Pointy, Commented Nov 24, 2022 at 0:56

Peter Thoeny · Accepted Answer · 2022-11-24 00:58:21Z

Here is a minimal jQuery plugin based on your question.

(function( $ ) {
    $.fn.myPlugin = function () {
        this.filter('table').each(function() {
            var container = $(this);
            var data = container.data('columns');
            var html = '<tr>'
               + data.map(obj => '<th>' + obj.header + '</th>').join('')
               + '</tr>';
            console.log('html: '+html);
            container.append(html);
        });
        return this;
    }
}( jQuery ));

$('#myTable').myPlugin()

#myTable th {
  border: 1px gray solid;
  padding: 1px 5px;
}

<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/jquery/3.3.1/jquery.min.js"></script>
<table id="myTable" data-columns='[{ "header": "Header1" },
    { "header": "Header2" },
    { "header": "Header3" }]'>
  </table>

Note the .filter('table'), which makes sure the code is only applied to tables.

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