Why you should use JQuery
I recently started a new job, which I like a lot by the way. At the new job they use a lot of techniques that I have not used before. One of which is the JavaScript library JQuery. I had tried JQuery when it first came out but didn't think much of it, but now, I am blown away.
Normally I have issues with JavaScript libraries because they tend to be huge file size. JQuery can get down to as little as 16kb (Gzipped and with no plugins) which all things considered is pretty small. So what are the benefits of JQuery? The ability to right less code to get things done.
If you recall I had written 3 previous JavaScript related posts, Add to Window on Load, What Browser? & Unobtrusive JavaScript is easy all of which came to a total of 37 lines of code. With JQuery it can all be done in 11.
The question is would you like to write this.
Or this:
JQuery lets you write less code. The website is full of excellent documentation, there are tons of plugins available and excellent tutorials and examples to boot.
I agree. I’ve been using jquery for a short time but find it to be a invaluable tool. It’s also much easier to pick up.
Comment by steve — July 29, 2008 @ 7:30 am
Totally agree - I’ve been using it for about a year now, and the more you use it the easier life gets, it’s as straight forward as that!
Comment by Luc — July 29, 2008 @ 9:41 am
Every time I use JQuery now, I just think of all the time I wasted writing really long code.
Comment by Dan — July 29, 2008 @ 8:37 pm