- Describe jQuery and its purpose as a JavaScript library
- Discuss the benefits and drawbacks of using jQuery.
- Practice using jQuery selectors
jQuery is a free, open-source, 3rd-party library that is intended to make front-end development tasks --- particularly those involving DOM selection and manipulation --- easier, faster, and more fun.
A library is a collection of reusable functions that serve a particular purpose. The great thing about libraries is that we're using code that solves common problems, thus avoiding reinvention of the wheel.
- simplifies complex DOM manipulation
- concise, intuitive, readable syntax also
- solves many cross-browser compatibility issues for us
- fun and super helpful jQuery plugins
- well-maintained, issues resolved quickly
- designed for developers to implement complex functionality quickly and easily
- makes css changes and javascript animation very simple
- jQuery is much slower than vanilla javascript in many cases (it solves so many issues so it runs a LOT of code behind the scenes)
- constantly evolving, so you need to keep up and understand a lot about how it works in order to be able to resolve any issues you encounter when implementing jQuery
- in conclusion: good for readability, bad for debugging