getting values from the list

Using the example, I find it ridiculous that this is what I have to do to get the list of items:

$('li').toArray().map(function(x){ return $(x).text()})

[ccorcos]

Here’s an even better example:

Here’s some html:

 <tr id="frank_menu">
    <th class="pomona_background"><a href="http://www.pomona.edu/administration/dining/menus/frank.aspx" target="_blank">Frank</a></th>
    <td>
      <span class="mobile_meal_header">Breakfast</span>
      <ul>


            <li>Bacon</li>

            <li> Vegan Sausage</li>

            <li> Hash Brown Potatoes</li>

            <li> Tofu &amp; Apple Sausage Scramble</li>

            <li> Hard Boiled Eggs</li>

            <li> Scrambled Eggs</li>

            <li> Scrambled Egg Whites</li>

            <li> Breakfast Special: Breakfast Burrito: Flour Tortilla</li>

            <li> Scrambled Eggs</li>

            <li> Sausage</li>

            <li> Potatoes</li>

            <li> Cheese</li>

            <li>Omelet Bar</li>

            <li>Breakfast Smoothies</li>

            <li>Made To Order: Eggs</li>

            <li> Buttermilk Pancakes &amp; Cinnamon French Toast</li>

            <li> Topping Bar Make Your Own Belgian Waffle</li>

            <li>Oatmeal with Assorted Toppings: Brown Sugar</li>

            <li> Raisins</li>

            <li> Cinnamon Sugar</li>

            <li> Banana Chips</li>

            <li> Golden Raisins</li>

            <li> Chocolate Chips</li>

            <li>Bagel</li>

            <li> Fruit &amp; Yogurt Bar</li>

            <li> Frank&#39;s Granola</li>

            <li> Breakfast Muesli</li>

            <li> Smoothies</li>


      </ul>
    </td>
    <td>
      <span class="mobile_meal_header">Lunch</span>
      <ul>


            <li>Kung Pao Chicken Wraps</li>

            <li> Broccoli Beef</li>

            <li> Mushu Seitan &amp; Mushrooms</li>

            <li> Steamed Rice</li>

            <li> Noodles</li>

            <li> Spring Rolls</li>

            <li> Tofu-Vegetable Stir Fry</li>

            <li>Cheese</li>

            <li> Sour Cream</li>

            <li> Apple</li>

            <li> Pecan &amp; White Chocolate Pizza</li>

            <li> Pepperoni</li>

            <li>Chicken &amp; Noodle</li>

            <li>Fresh Fruit</li>


      </ul>
    </td>
    <td>
      <span class="mobile_meal_header">Dinner</span>
      <ul>


            <li>Hamburgers</li>

            <li> Cheeseburgers</li>

            <li> Garden Burgers</li>

            <li> Bacon</li>

            <li> Chili</li>

            <li> Grilled Onions &amp; Mushrooms</li>

            <li> French Fries</li>

            <li> Onion Rings</li>

            <li> Lettuce</li>

            <li> Tomato</li>

            <li> Red Onions</li>

            <li> Pickles</li>

            <li>Cheese</li>

            <li> Vegetable</li>

            <li> Pepperoni</li>

            <li> Special</li>

            <li>Fish-N-Chips</li>

            <li>Spicy Chicken &amp; Noodle</li>

            <li>Fruit Salad</li>


      </ul>
    </td>
  </tr>

And here’s the solution:

$("tr#frank_menu>td").toArray().map(function(x) {
  return $(x).find('ul').children().toArray().map(function(x) {
    return $(x).text();
  });
});

Its not that this library isn’t useful – it really is! But it would be a lot cleaner…

[jugglinmike]

There are certainly more concise ways to achieve your goal. This is no different than how you would do this in the browser with jQuery.

-$("tr#frank_menu>td").toArray().map(function(x) {
-  return $(x).find('ul').children().toArray().map(function(x) {
-    return $(x).text();
-  });
-});
+$("#frank_menu li").map(function() {
+  return $(this).text();
+}).toArray();

Does that help?