If you had asked me 5 years ago, how I though JavaScript was going to shape web development of the future, I’d of said, not at all. Working with Javascript was painful, full of cross browser inconsistencies and involved working with copious amounts of code to power simple functionality. Many web developers, me included, went out their way to avoid JavaScript.
“The websites I build don’t use any JavaScript.”
jQuery was bought to my attention a couple of years ago, if you’re a web developer / designer and don’t know what I’m talking about, I’m about to revolutionise the way you build websites, and web based interfaces.
jQuery is a JavaScript library, it extends the core JavaScript functionality, wrapping it up in easy to use methods. The result is astonishing. Produce drag and drop elements, AJAX calls, dialog boxes and much more all within just a few lines of code. jQuery is supported across all common browsers letting you focus on building the interface of your clients dreams.
The community that develops, extends and supports jQuery allows you to tap in to a wealth of knowledge and resources. Getting started only requires a bit of basic JavaScript knowledge and the ability to read the excellent documentation.
I should point out, other JavaScript libraries are available, I just like jQuery more than the others!
