One way to write the BetaHandler

beta.js

function countletters(event){
  var max=jQuery(this).attr('maxlength');
  var valLen=jQuery(this).val().length;
  if(valLen > max) {
    jQuery(this).val(jQuery(this).val().substring(0, max));
    valLen=max;
  }
  jQuery("div.counter").text( valLen+'/'+max);
}

jQuery(function() {
  jQuery("div.countable textarea").bind('keyup', countletters);
});

// This an Immediately Invoked Function Expression (IFEE)
//
// It serves two purposes:
//
//     1) it binds jQuery to $ so you can use $ safely
//     2) it scopes all your variables so things don't accidently leak in the global (window) scope
(function($) {
  // Your code goes inside here

  // A DataHub BetaFeature
  //
  // The attributes of this feature are stored in the DOM and this object
  // is associated with a root DOM element.
  //
  // This feature id is read from the first descendant element matching the ".feature-id" selector.
  //
  // This features description is read from the contents of the first descendent element matching the ".feature-desc" selector.
  //
  // The DOM should look something like this:
  //
  // <tr class="feature">
  //   <td><input class="feature-id" type="checkbox" value="1" name="beta_1005" id="beta_1005"></td>
  //   <td><span class="feature-desc">Beta Feature 1005</span></td>
  // </tr>
  BetaFeature = function(elem) {
    this.$elem = $(elem);
  };
  BetaFeature.prototype.getId = function() {
    var id;
    id = this.$elem.find('.feature-id input[type=checkbox]').attr("id").replace('beta_', '');

    return id;
  };
  BetaFeature.prototype.getDesc = function() {
    var desc;
    desc = this.$elem.find('.feature-desc').text(); // or this.$elem.find('.feature-desc').html() if you want the desc as HTML

    return desc;
  };

  // Using a named function isn't neccesary but it makes debugging easier
  // since it shows up as a named function rather than an anonymous function
  // in the debugger.
  //
  // It also let's you re-use this function if you can generalize it in the future.
  function featureInputOnClick() {
    var $this,
        $feature_elem,
        feature,
        checked,
        dialogWidth;

    $this = $(this);
    $feature_elem = $this.closest('.feature');
    feature = new BetaFeature($feature_elem);

    checked = ($(this).is(':checked'));
    if(checked){
      alert('Hi There! The element was checked');
    } else {
      dialogWidth = $(window).width() / 2;
      $("#text").text(feature.getDesc());
      $("#dialog").dialog( {width: dialogWidth, buttons: { "OK": function() { $(this).dialog("close"); } }, modal: true } );
    }
  }

  $(function() {
    $("span.check input[type=checkbox]").bind('click', featureInputOnClick);
  });

  // Expose BetaFeature temporarily for debugging
  // This can be deleted later
  window.BetaFeature = BetaFeature;
}(jQuery));

create_feature.js

var feature = new BetaFeature(jQuery(".feature").first());
feature.getId();
feature.getDesc();