Persist jQuery objects with its corresponding node so that additional values set on the object itself are maintained. Usage: // persist the jQuery object with the dom node (if one is persisted already then the new is ignored) $(selector).persist$(); // or override and existing persisted object $(selector).persist$(true); // then retrieve the per…

jq.persist.js

(function ($) {
    
    var objCollection = [];
    
    $.fn.persist$ = function (override) {
        var current = this.data('oid');
        
        if (typeof current === 'undefined') {
            var next = objCollection.length;
          
            objCollection.push(this);
          
            this.data('oid', next);
        }
        else if (override) {
            objCollection[current] = this;
        }
        
        return this;
    };
    
    $.fn.get$ = function () {
        var current = this.data('oid');
        
        if (typeof current === 'undefined') {
            return this;
        }
        
        return objCollection[current];
    };
    
})(jQuery);