jQuery
jQuery is an open source JavaScript library that speeds up the web development process. Faster web development processes can be accomplished because the library provides a variety of predefined functions, which means that the development time for creating custom functions in raw JavaScript is shortened.
jQuery is designed so that it's easier to navigate through a document, create animations, select DOM elements, handle events and develop Ajax applications. It also gives developers the possibility to create plug-ins on top of the JavaScript library, and also to create abstractions for low-level interaction and animation, themeable widgets and advanced effects.
Advantages
- It simplifies event handling
- It simplifies HTML doc traversing
- It facilitates Ajax interactions and animation
- It has a comprehensive library, and its functions can cover almost all development needs
- It has a strong community backing, with a large number of jQuery plug-ins readily available
- jQuery is very well documented and it has an abundance of tutorial materials available
- It is lightweight, compared with other JavaScript frameworks
Disadvantages
- It depends on the jQuery JavaScript file, which increases page load time
- If it's used in large applications, it will be a bit more difficult to keep the code organized
- If scripts interfere with each other, it can be difficult to debug
Development tools
- Visual Studio
- Eclipse
- Text editors (such as Sublime Text or Notepad++)
Versions
- jQuery 1.x
- jQuery 2.x
- jQuery 3.0
- jQuery 3.1