jQuery plugin to return a given input type as a string (e.g. "textarea").

plugin.get-input-type.js

/**
 * Function getInputType
 *
 * @return String name for the type of input (i.e. select or textarea)
 * @example <code>var inputType = $(input).getInputType(); // returns a string representation of the given input</code>
 * @author  William Dodson <william.dodson@gmail.com>
 * @version 1.0.0
 */
(function ($) {
  'use strict';

  $.fn.getInputType = function () {
    var inputType;

    // return early if we get passed an undefined field name
    if(typeof this[0] === 'undefined') {
      return;
    }

    inputType = this[0].tagName.toString().toLowerCase() === 'input' ?
      $(this[0]).prop('type').toLowerCase() : this[0].tagName.toLowerCase();

    return inputType;
  };

}(jQuery));