Attributes > Classes: Custom DOM Attributes for Fun and Profit
Written by on Tuesday, January 9th, 2007 in Ajax, DOM, JavaScript, scripting.
XHTML gives us the ability to extend our markup with customized, semantically meaningful attributes. While the battle between class and attribute might be a holy war to some (and unknown to most others) the fact remains that attribute name value pairs are easier to read and understand, and only attributes allow you to associate a value with your meta-data. Extending XHTML elements in my projects has made me think of how to solve problems in new and better ways. It has made me a stronger JavaScript artisan. In this article, I explain several examples and provide functions for working with your own custom attributes.
http://digg.com/programming/Attributes_Classes_Custom_DOM_Attributes_for_Fun_and_Profit