jQuery object has empty properties, but shows up when used console logging particular property

JavaScript
1 
$(document).ready(function() {
  let element = $("#anElement");
  console.log(element);
  console.log(element[0]);
});

The first console.log shows:

{"0":{},"length":1,"prevObject":{"0":{"jQuery3610120547230220444671":{"events":{"click":[{"type":"click","origType":"click","data":null,"guid":1,"namespace":""}]}}},"length":1}}

The 0 property is empty.
However, the second console.log shows an html element.

How does the object property appear empty, but in reality isn’t?

2

Because you’re logging the wrapper jQuery builds when you run the function $ (which is an alias for new jQuery.fn.init("#anElement") IIRC).

The first console log is the default value for when you initialise a jQuery object using that function $. It has to construct that first before it does anything else

$("#anElement") doesn’t represent a DOM element, it represents an object you’ve initialised that lets you access/manipulate DOM objects

It builds the wrapper first and (again very much IIRC) stores some metadata [possibly on the prototype?]. Then you use that wrapper to do whatever you want to do (in this case select a property called 0), at which point it will run more functions to get you where you want

3

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