jquery onclick setting variable

Question

I set a variable 'api_key' on document load. I want to modify this variable with the text of an input field after clicking a button

var api_key = "";

//my button has an id named "btn-verify", the input field has an id named "verify"
$("#btn-verify").click({
        api_key = $("#verify").val();

    });

this doesn't work, how should I fix this. How do I assign api_key to the value of the input field, on click of a button

Answer 1

You are missing the function declaration when binding the handler.

Change

$("#btn-verify").click({

to

//Missing function declaration--v   
  $("#btn-verify").click(function (){

Answer 2

Try this:

$(document).ready(function(){
    $("#btn-verify").click(function(){
        api_key = $("#verify").val();
    });
});

the ready function will cause JS to wait untill the DOM finishes to load before runing.