How to store a global value (not necessarily a global variable) in jQuery?

Question

Currently I am working on a legacy web page that uses a ton of JavaScript, jQuery, Microsoft client JavaScript, and other libraries. The bottom line - I cannot rewrite the entire page from scratch as the business cannot justify it. So... it is what it is. Anyway, I need to pollute (I really tried not too) the global namespace with a variable. There are the three options I was thinking about -

1. Just store/retrieve it using a normal JavaScript declaration - var x = 0;

2. Use jQuery to store/retrieve the value in a DOM tag - $("body").data("x", 0);

3. Use a hidden form field, and set/retrieve the value with jQuery - $("whatever").data("x", 0);

Is there a better way? I looked at the existing pile of code, and I do not believe the variable can be scoped in a function.

Answer 1

You can create a namespace inside the jQuery object, like so:

$.mynamespace = { 
    myVar : "something", 
    myVar2 : "somethingElse" 
}; 

or:

$.mynamespace = {};
$.mynamespace.myVar = "something";
$.mynamespace.myVar2 = "somethingElse";

Bear in mind, any plugin method named 'mynamespace' will be overwritten so be sure to use a sensible name.