Why can't I change the type of an input element to submit?
function submit_button(button_id){ $('#' + button_id).prop('type', 'submit');}Be aware that this changes the type but not the value, so the button will still read "confirm".
A fiddle to prove it : http://jsfiddle.net/qeUxP/
Why jQuery won't allow you to just change the type attribute?
Because it causes problems in Internet Explorer.
More info at: change type of input field with jQuery
"Straight from the jQuery source":
// We can't allow the type property to be changed (since it causes problems in IE)if ( name == "type" && jQuery.nodeName( elem, "input" ) && elem.parentNode ) throw "type property can't be changed";