jQuery comes with easily reusable code to add interaction to your site, saving you time by not having to implement functionality yourself. Instead of writing code for boilerplate functionality, just call a jQuery method with a single line of code.
Unlike other JS libraries such as React.js, jQuery isn’t that big. All the code is in one long JavaScript file.
What are the main features of jQuery?
- effects and animations
- Ajax
- CSS support
- Versatile utility
- Extensions and the open source community
Comparing jQuery and JavaScript
JavaScript is a programming language and jQuery is a library made up of JavaScript code. The jQuery Code Library comes with ready-made JavaScript code implementations that you can use to build your website faster.
Reasons to use jQuery
jQuery helps developers add useful functionality and interactions to their websites. This framework provides the ability to modify the Document Object Model (DOM) tree of a web page. Libraries also enable CSS animations and improved usability, making event handling easier. Additionally, jQuery works well with Ajax.
Notable built-in functions in jQuery include ease-in and ease-out animations. Normally you would have to code these functions, but thanks to jQuery, you can just call pre-built functions.
Using jQuery makes your web pages look great and enhances the user experience with additional interactions, animations, and smoother flows.
Advantages of using jQuery
jQuery has become a popular framework due to the variety of features it offers. The most useful features of jQuery are:
effects and animations
jQuery has many pre-made effects and animations that are easy to call and use. For example, you can add shadows or text swoops. You can also introduce a parallax effect on page scrolling to make the page look more interesting.
Ajax
jQuery makes it easy to access external data using built-in Ajax functionality. Ajax is no longer important and you probably don’t use it much, but if you need to load data access using JavaScript, Ajax and jQuery’s Ajax capabilities can help.
CSS support
CSS to style your website works well with jQuery. CSS, JavaScript, jQuery, and HTML form a powerful combination that is easy to manage, allowing you to build interactive and user-friendly websites.
Versatile utility
jQuery includes utilities that make managing JavaScript easier. For example, you can use the browser utility to access the browser version in your code.
Extensions and the open source community
jQuery is just a file full of JavaScript code. This means you can write extensions. If you can’t do it alone, there is a large community of jQuery users. You can explore tutorials and GitHub repositories that add useful extensions to jQuery routines.