What is the reason behind adding a dot or period in the ID of an HTML element?

What is the purpose of inserting a dot or period in the id of an HTML element? Are there any additional benefits in terms of coding languages?

<div id="PAT.TID" class="lineHeight frmData">Headset, e.g. Bluetooth headset, for mobile device has configuration logic which configures headset based on sensor data indicating whether headset is being worn by user</div>

I need to select the div with id="PAT.TID", how can I achieve that?

document.querySelector('#PAT\.TID')

When trying this in the Chrome browser console, I receive a null object.

Is there a way to select elements with IDs containing wildcards using pure JavaScript (similar to querySelector)?

javascriptjqueryhtmlcss

Answer №1

When working with JavaScript, the string literal '#PAT\.TID' is essentially the same as '#PAT.TID'. Remember to escape characters for both JavaScript and CSS:

document.querySelector('#PAT\\.TID')

Just a heads up, there's really no benefit in double escaping like this other than causing confusion for others.

Answer №2

Using a period in an id attribute value does not provide any specific technical advantage. An id attribute is simply a unique identifier, where each character does not hold any special significance (except for spaces being prohibited).

In the past, using a period in identifiers has always been allowed.

The rationale behind why a website or application chooses to use a period in an identifier can only be uncovered by delving into its internal structure, logic, interactions with other software, and possibly the thoughts of its creators and developers.

It is unlikely that this choice is based on interface requirements, as id attributes typically remain internal to a webpage. However, it's conceivable that these identifiers were simply copied from external sources without thorough consideration.

Another possibility is that utilizing id="PAT.ID" is a workaround to circumvent the limitation of not allowing spaces in id attribute values. Perhaps they intended to use "PAT ID", realized it wasn't valid, and opted for "PAT.ID" over alternatives like "PAT_ID" or "PAT-ID".

The additional question posed in @minitech’s response further elaborates on related aspects not covered in the initial inquiry.

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