What is jQuery?
Document Object Model (DOM) manipulation is an important aspect of front-end development. With many JavaScript features, JavaScript tried its best to make DOM manipulation an easy task for developers.
This Answer introduces the JavaScript library jQuery, which is made to make DOM manipulation easier. At the end of this Answer, we’ll know all about jQuery and its features.
Let’s get to it!
What is jQuery?
Back in 2006, the JavaScript DOM manipulation syntaxes didn’t work on all browsers, which was a major setback in development.
To solve this major problem, a fast, small, and feature-rich JavaScript library was developed and released, called jQuery.
The jQuery library simplifies HTML DOM manipulation, event handling, and animation with an easy-to-use API that works across all browsers.
It also simplifies writing client-side JavaScript and ensures the code works on all browsers. Thus, we can say that it’s an amazing game-changer.
What are the features of jQuery?
jQuery has many features, which include:
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DOM manipulation: This is the major purpose of its release. With CSS selectors, jQuery makes it easy to select, manipulate, and traverse the DOM.
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Event handling: Event handling is made easy with certain jQuery methods. It is easy to handle mouse and keyboard events without writing repetitive or browser-specific code.
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Cross-browser compatibility: jQuery works with almost all types of browsers, which include Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Safari, and Opera. For this reason, it’s become widely used among developers.
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Animation and effects: With jQuery, it’s easy to create amazing animation effects such as fadeIn, slideDown, and animate. These animations can create visually rich user interfaces, thus increasing user satisfaction.
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AJAX support: jQuery makes it easy to make asynchronous HTTP requests. Asynchronous HTTP requests allow the update of parts of a web page without having to refresh the entire page, which makes the website more responsive and functional.
Coding example
Below is an example of an interactive page created with jQuery.
$(document).ready(function() {
// This function runs when the document is fully loaded
// and is used to ensure that the rest of the code does not execute
// until the page is ready.
$("p").click(function() {
// This function runs when a 'p' element is clicked on
// and changes the text of the clicked element to "Hello World!"
$(this).text("Hello World!");
});
});
Explanation
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Line 4: The jQuery CDN is included in the Html file. Without it, the jQuery codes won’t work.
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Line 5: The javascript file is linked to the Html file.
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Line 8: A
pelement was created with the text “click me!”. jQuery is used to attach an event to this element in the JavaScript file, such that when you click on it, the text changes.
Advantages of jQuery
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jQuery makes it easier to write code for web applications.
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It takes care of common tasks that are otherwise difficult to execute using basic JavaScript syntaxes, such as making Ajax requests and manipulating the DOM.
Disadvantages of jQuery
jQuery has been around for a long time and is widely used because of its amazing features, but it can have its drawbacks too.
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jQuery can be difficult for someone with knowledge of vanilla JavaScript.
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Also, because it’s so widely used, it is frequently employed in tasks that it wasn’t designed for, which can lead to code that is difficult to maintain.
Overall, jQuery is a powerful tool that can make the life of a web developer much easier with its amazing features, but it is important to use it wisely.
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