What does "a[href*=#]:not([href=#])" code mean?

Question

I don't understand clearly what does this code mean ?

a[href*=#]:not([href=#])

Thank you !

Answer 1

Simply:

a[href*=#] 

gets all anchors (a) that contain # in href.

But with:

:not([href=#])

excludes anchors with href exactly equal to #.

Example:

<a href="#step1">yes</a>
<a href="page.php#step2">yes</a>
<a href="#">no</a> 

the selector gets the first two anchors, but it excludes the last.

For more details you can consult the attribute selectors chapter

Answer 2

Just in case anyone had the same problem as me with it and new version of jQuery : The solution is not to use a[href*=#]:not([href=#]) but

use

a[href*="#"]:not([href="#"])

This was a breaking change in jQuery 2.2.4 onwards.