title: Validate fields using JQuery validation without any submit?
body: <p>I have a HTML5 web application with numerous user-entered fields, and I would like to do some client-side validation on those fields in javascript before sending them to the server. Easy right? Just use JQuery validation plugin --- <a href="http://jqueryvalidation.org/">http://jqueryvalidation.org/</a></p>
  
  <p>But there's a catch. My web app has no forms. There is no submit anywhere in the HTML. Instead there's a JQuery change handler on every user-changeable element, and when the user changes the value of one of those element, an AJAX call is made. (This nonstandard user interaction architecture makes sense for this application.) </p>
  
  <p>I would like to validate the field before the AJAX call, and use the JQuery validation plugin to do that. But I can't figure out how. </p>
  
  <p>Is it possible to use the JQuery validation plugin without a submit anywhere? How would I do this? Or is another approach better?</p>