string.length returns undefined?

Question

function checkInputData() {
    $('.mainSearchSubmit').live('click', function () {
        var inputData = $(this).parent().children().eq(0).val();
        console.log(inputData.length);
        //this returns undefined
        console.log(inputData);
        //and this returns text from inpu so i know there is data
    });
 }

Any ideas why is this happening, in other cases when retrieving val() from input it always comes as string??

Solution

The only explanation to length being undefined is if inputData is not a string. You neglected to mention what type of input you're working with, but in any case, casting to string should solve the issue:

function checkInputData() {
    $('.mainSearchSubmit').live('click', function () {
        var inputData = $(this).parent().children().eq(0).val();
        inputData = String(inputData); // Cast to string
        console.log(inputData.length);
        //this returns undefined
        console.log(inputData);
        //and this returns text from inpu so i know there is data
    });
 }

Comments

[dante]

"" + $(this).parent().yadda().yadda() will also cast to a string