What Is jQuery?
jQuery is a popular open-source JavaScript library that simplifies using JavaScript on websites with pre-built code solutions.
jQuery provides reusable code to add interactions to your site, saving you time by eliminating the need to implement functionality yourself. Instead of writing boilerplate code, you can call a jQuery method with a single line of code.
Unlike larger JS libraries like React.js, jQuery is compact, with all its code in a single JavaScript file.
jQuery vs. JavaScript
JavaScript is a programming language, while jQuery is a library of JavaScript code. jQuery provides ready-made JavaScript code implementations, allowing you to build websites more quickly.
Why Use jQuery?
jQuery helps developers add functionality and interaction to a website. It allows you to modify the document object model (DOM) tree and simplifies event handling. jQuery also improves CSS animations and works well with Ajax.
Notable pre-built functions in jQuery include ease-in and ease-out animations. Instead of coding these features from scratch, you can call the pre-built functions.
Using jQuery can enhance a web page with additional interaction, animations, and a smooth flow, improving the user experience.
Benefits of Using jQuery
jQuery is popular because of its versatile functionality. Its most useful features include:
Effects and Animations
jQuery offers numerous pre-built effects and animations that you can easily implement. Examples include adding shadows or text swoop-ins, as well as introducing parallax effects for scrolling pages, enhancing their visual appeal.
Ajax
jQuery simplifies accessing external data through its built-in Ajax features. While Ajax may not be as commonly used today, if you need to load data dynamically using JavaScript, jQuery’s Ajax capabilities remain beneficial.
CSS support
CSS, which styles your website, integrates seamlessly with jQuery. Together with JavaScript and HTML, they form a powerful combination that is easy to manage, enabling the creation of interactive and user-friendly websites.
Versatile Utilities
jQuery includes built-in utilities that simplify JavaScript management. For example, you can use the browser utility to access the browser version directly in your code.
Extensions and Open-Source Community
jQuery is essentially a file containing JavaScript code, allowing you to write extensions for it. If you need assistance, a large community of jQuery users provides tutorials and GitHub repositories with useful extensions to enhance your jQuery functionality.
