.first()
.first() Returns: jQuery
Description: Reduce the set of matched elements to the first in the set.
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version added: 1.4.first()
Given a jQuery object that represents a set of DOM elements, the .first() method constructs a new jQuery object from the first matching element.
Consider a page with a simple list on it:
<ul> <li>list item 1</li> <li>list item 2</li> <li>list item 3</li> <li>list item 4</li> <li>list item 5</li> </ul>
We can apply this method to the set of list items:
$('li').first().css('background-color', 'red');
The result of this call is a red background for the first item.
Example:
Highlight the first span in a paragraph.
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<style>.highlight{background-color: yellow}</style>
<script src="http://code.jquery.com/jquery-1.7rc2.js"></script>
</head>
<body>
<p><span>Look:</span> <span>This is some text in a paragraph.</span> <span>This is a note about it.</span></p>
<script>$("p span").first().addClass('highlight');</script>
</body>
</html>