jQuery & jQuery UI Documentation

jQuery & jQuery UI

.size()

.size() Returns: Number

Description: Return the number of elements in the jQuery object.

  • version added: 1.0.size()

The .size() method is functionally equivalent to the .length property; however, the .length property is preferred because it does not have the overhead of a function call.

Given a simple unordered list on the page:

<ul>
  <li>foo</li>
  <li>bar</li>
</ul>

Both .size() and .length identify the number of items:

alert( "Size: " + $("li").size() );
alert( "Size: " + $("li").length );

This results in two alerts:

Size: 2

Size: 2

Example:

Count the divs. Click to add more.

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
  <style>
  body { cursor:pointer; min-height: 100px; }
  div { width:50px; height:30px; margin:5px; 
        float:left; background:blue; }
  span { color:red; }
 </style>
  <script src="http://code.jquery.com/jquery-1.7rc2.js"></script>
</head>
<body>
  
<span></span>
 <div></div>

<script>
$(document.body)
.click(function() { 
  $(this).append( $("<div>") );
  var n = $("div").size();
  $("span").text("There are " + n + " divs. Click to add more.");
})
// trigger the click to start
.click(); 
</script>

</body>
</html>