How can I get query string values in JavaScript?

Is there a plugin-less way of retrieving query string values via jQuery (or without)?
If so, how? If not, is there a plugin which can do so?

answer:

You don't need jQuery for that purpose. You can use just some pure JavaScript:
function getParameterByName(name, url) {
    if (!url) {
      url = window.location.href;
    }
    name = name.replace(/[\[\]]/g, "\\$&");
    var regex = new RegExp("[?&]" + name + "(=([^&#]*)|&|#|$)"),
        results = regex.exec(url);
    if (!results) return null;
    if (!results[2]) return '';
    return decodeURIComponent(results[2].replace(/\+/g, " "));
}
Usage:
// query string: ?foo=lorem&bar=&baz
var foo = getParameterByName('foo'); // "lorem"
var bar = getParameterByName('bar'); // "" (present with empty value)
var baz = getParameterByName('baz'); // "" (present with no value)
var qux = getParameterByName('qux'); // null (absent)

Note: If a parameter is present several times (?foo=lorem&foo=ipsum), you will get the first value (lorem). There is no standard about this and usages vary, see for example this question: Authoritative position of duplicate HTTP GET query keys.

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/901115/how-can-i-get-query-string-values-in-javascript