How To Convert A String Value To A Variable In Javascript?

var test1; $(document).ready(function () { test1 = $('#test1ID').jQueryPlugin(); }); var test2; $(document).ready(function () { test2 = $('#test2ID').jQueryPlugin(); });

Solution 1:

It might be worth creating an object to hold all your "tests":

var tests = {};

$(document).ready(function () {
    tests.test1 = $("#test1ID").jQueryPlugin();
    tests.test2 = $("#test2ID").jQueryPlugin();
});

for(i=0; i < theArrayOfStrings.length; i++){
    tests[theArrayOfStrings[i]].foo();
}

Solution 2:

eval() function is used to evaluate script in a string variable. For example :

var test1;
eval("test1=" + theArrayOfStrings[i]);
test1.foo();

But take a lok at this question before use When is JavaScript’s eval() not evil?

Solution 3:

If test1 is a global variable you can access it by name through the window object:

window[theArrayOfStrings[0]].foo();   // test1();

If it's not, eval is the only way, but I'd strongly advise avoiding eval in all circumstances. Using a lookup as in J-P's answer (+1) is much much more appropriate than selecting variable names.

Solution 4:

Have you tried

$('#' + theArrayOfStrings[i]).foo();

Have a look at API/1.3/Selectors

Solution 5:

var test = [], n = 5;
$(document).ready(function () {
    for(var i=0; i < n; i++)
        test.push($("#test"+i+"ID").jQueryPlugin());
});

// the values in test won't be accessible before the document is loaded.