Ajax post serialize() does not include button name and value

jQuery’s serialize() is pretty explicit about NOT encoding buttons or submit inputs, because they aren’t considered to be “successful controls”. This is because the serialize() method has no way of knowing what button (if any!) was clicked.

I managed to get around the problem by catching the button click, serializing the form, and then tacking on the encoded name and value of the clicked button to the result.

$("button.positive").click(function (evt) {
    evt.preventDefault();

    var button = $(evt.target);                 
    var result = button.parents('form').serialize() 
        + '&' 
        + encodeURI(button.attr('name'))
        + '='
        + encodeURI(button.attr('value'))
    ;

    console.log(result);
});