JQuery - Remove all event listeners from an element

Question

I am implementing swipe functionality to change pages in a website for use with mobile devices using the plugin found here ( http://www.netcu.de/jquery-touchwipe-iphone-ipad-library ). I have also included the plugin code at the bottom of this question.

The swipe functionality itself is fine, but due to the fact that I am loading pages using AJAX, new event handlers are being added every time a new page is loaded, and so the event handlers are conflicting.

I did initially think that the problem was because I am testing on android and the plugin is not fully tested, but the problem is the same for iOS devices as well.

I have tried using stopImmediatePropagation(), but that means that only the first handler is used, not the last, meaning that the same page is loaded repeatedly instead of the next one. I have also tried using off() and unbind(), but these do not remove the handlers.

Seeing as the handlers are added using addEventListener in the plugin, I assume that the only way to remove them is to use removeEventListener. However, I am having trouble referring to the names of the functions as they have been created in a plugin. If I can refer to the function names then I think that I can remove the listeners and then add the new one when the page is loaded. If this isn't possible for any reason, is there a way of removing all listeners attached to an element other than off() or unbind()?

Many thanks in advance. :)

Code for the touchwipe plugin:

/**
 * jQuery Plugin to obtain touch gestures from iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad, should also work with Android mobile phones (not tested yet!)
 * Common usage: wipe images (left and right to show the previous or next image)
 * 
 * @author Andreas Waltl, netCU Internetagentur (http://www.netcu.de)
 * @version 1.1.1 (9th December 2010) - fix bug (older IE's had problems)
 * @version 1.1 (1st September 2010) - support wipe up and wipe down
 * @version 1.0 (15th July 2010)
 */
(function($) { 
   $.fn.touchwipe = function(settings) {
     var config = {
            min_move_x: 20,
            min_move_y: 20,
            wipeLeft: function() { },
            wipeRight: function() { },
            wipeUp: function() { },
            wipeDown: function() { },
            preventDefaultEvents: true
     };

     if (settings) $.extend(config, settings);

     this.each(function() {
         var startX;
         var startY;
         var isMoving = false;

         function cancelTouch() {
             this.removeEventListener('touchmove', onTouchMove);
             startX = null;
             isMoving = false;
         }  

         function onTouchMove(e) {
             if(config.preventDefaultEvents) {
                 e.preventDefault();
             }
             if(isMoving) {
                 var x = e.touches[0].pageX;
                 var y = e.touches[0].pageY;
                 var dx = startX - x;
                 var dy = startY - y;
                 if(Math.abs(dx) >= config.min_move_x) {
                    cancelTouch();
                    if(dx > 0) {
                        config.wipeLeft();
                    }
                    else {
                        config.wipeRight();
                    }
                 }
                 else if(Math.abs(dy) >= config.min_move_y) {
                        cancelTouch();
                        if(dy > 0) {
                            config.wipeDown();
                        }
                        else {
                            config.wipeUp();
                        }
                     }
             }
         }

         function onTouchStart(e)
         {
             if (e.touches.length == 1) {
                 startX = e.touches[0].pageX;
                 startY = e.touches[0].pageY;
                 isMoving = true;
                 this.addEventListener('touchmove', onTouchMove, false);
             }
         }       
         if ('ontouchstart' in document.documentElement) {
             this.addEventListener('touchstart', onTouchStart, false);
         }
     });

     return this;
   };

 })(jQuery);

Answer 1

Check this code:

var test = $( "<div></div>" ); // example element
test . click ( function () {} );
test . mouseover ( function () {} );
$.each ( $._data ( test [ 0 ], "events" ), function ( name ) // first argument of function: "$._data ()" is: "Element" - not jQuery object
{
    //console . log ( name ); // output: "click" and "mouseover
    test . off ( name ); // function off() removes an event handler
} );
// alert ( typeof $._data ( test [ 0 ], "events" ) ); // return "undefined" - no events

More on: jQuery function off .
Working fiddle: JSFiddle .