What Is jQuery Framework And Its Important Features?

With so many businesses fiercely competing for the #1 spot on search engines, one of the factors that makes businesses stand out is their websites. The demand for developing websites with dynamic elements and interfaces is on the rise. However, implementing them solely through JavaScript code can involve a lot of manual coding inputs. This is where the jQuery framework makes it easier for web developers to develop such dynamic client-side web pages as required.

So, what is jQuery? It’s a Javascript library that is used to simplify various types of tasks in web development. Used in about 75.6% of all websites, in this article, we’ll learn more about this dynamic framework and how it can be useful to developers, let’s get started.

The Inception Of jQuery

As explained above, jQuery is a JavaScript library but what exactly is that? Before we get into that, it is important to learn about JavaScript first. This object-oriented programming language used to create dynamic interactive webpages is one of the three core elements alongside HTML & CSS involved in website development. 

To simplify things, HTML is a website blueprint that consists of the web content & overall page structure. CSS styles the webpage by adding colors, themes, and other elements. JavaScript is used to provide interaction for the elements when clicked upon or engaged by the user.

Despite its popularity, JavaScript had its fair share of challenges. JavaScript was quite complex, especially when dealing with features such as DOM manipulation, event handling, and AJAX requests. There were compatibility issues as different browsers had varying levels of JavaScript support. 

The introduction of the jQuery framework by John Resig in 2006 effectively simplified and streamlined JavaScript development. It is essentially a set of pre-written JavaScript codes that can be included in a website by embedding directly in the HTML via a script tag.

Importance Of jQuery Framework

jQuery framework consists of several common JavaScript code functionalities wrapped into methods that can be called using a simple syntax. Unlike JavaScript, jQuery isn’t a programming language and its sole purpose is to make it much easier to use JavaScript for web development. Just think of jQuery as a Swiss knife for JavaScript. This allows developers to input less code and ensure efficiency. The following is a basic jQuery sample syntax:

$(selector).action()

• $: This is used to define/access jQuery
• (selector): Used to select the specific HTML element
• action(): This performs an action on the selected element(s)

So essentially the syntax is used to select a query from HTML and perform a designated action on them. Let’s consider the following jQuery sample:

• $(this).hide():  hides the current element i.e. “this”
• $(“p”).show() – This hides the <p> elements

Simplifying JavaScript

To understand how jQuery effectively simplifies JavaScript coding, consider the following example where the task is to select an HTML element with the ID “myElement” and change its text.

Using JavaScript:

Source:

Using jQuery:

Source:

Notice how long the line of code is with JavaScript and how minimal when jQuery is used?

With this example, you must have understood what is jQuery. If it can simplify the coding process, then why JavaScript is still used? Well, the answer to that is there is no jQuery without JavaScript.

jQuery feature indeed makes the process easier for web developers to build applications however, JavaScript is one of the best programming languages for web development that is used to interact with this framework and write efficient code. For eg, if there are 10 lines of code in a web development app when only JavaScript is used, you can complete the coding with 5 lines with jQuery. Therefore, if you want to get started with jQuery, you have to first learn JavaScript and understand how it works.

Understanding The Key Features

Now that you have understood the importance of jQuery framework and how it helps streamline JavaScript code, let’s move on and understand the various features of jQuery and how it makes the web development process easier:

Easier DOM manipulation

Document Object Model or DOM is a cross-platform language interface for HTML & XML documents. It allows programs to manipulate the content and style of a webpage. Using jQuery API, one can easily make changes in the DOM such as changing the position of elements, modifying CSS, etc.

AJAX Support

AJAX or Asynchronous JavaScript and XML are web development techniques for creating asynchronous web applications. With AJAX, exchanging data with the server and updating parts of the webpage without refreshing the page. So how jQuery and AJAX are related? This jQuery feature has the complete suite of AJAX capabilities therefore, can be used to make asynchronous HTTP data requests from a remote server and place them into the selected HTML elements.

Cross-browser compatibility

Cross-browser compatibility is another important jQuery feature. Each web browser has its version of the JavaScript engine which can result in interpreting JavaScript code differently. This can result in various inconsistencies. This is why jQuery is perfect for saving this issue as it offers a unified interface for common DOM manipulation tasks. In other words, you can write code that is cross-platform and runs well across different browsers with ease.

Custom effects & animations

jQuery framework has several built-in predefined animation effects that can be used to enhance your website’s overall visual appeal. You can even use custom animation methods along with other effects such as hiding/showing elements and fading in/out background color with little effort.

The Continuing Benefits of jQuery

Compared to jQuery, Vue.js, and React.js frameworks are more popular JavaScript out there.  jQuery isn’t the only one that is most popular but this is still one of the preferred choices among web developers. One of the reasons for this is the strong community support. The community ensures that the jQuery feature remains relevant and up-to-date. The platform offers assistance and shares their knowledge and experience on implementing jQuery on multiple platforms, websites, etc. If you plan to start with jQuery, you are not alone.

Some of the benefits of jQuery include a high degree of flexibility and user-friendliness. Also, the framework abstracts many of the JavaScript code complexities and offers a wide range of functionalities that include DOM manipulation, AJAX support, Event handling, etc. This means developers can achieve results with minimal effort and higher efficiency. All these factors point to the continued use of this framework in the coming years.

Winding Up

Offering a simplified and streamlined way to create interactive websites, jQuery is one of the easy-to-start web development frameworks for JavaScript that beginners and experienced web developers alike can use. While newer frameworks and libraries are being used, jQuery’s core strengths which include simplicity, robustness, and extensive community support ensure its continued relevance in the web development sector. 

Do you wish to learn what is jQuery and have your website developed using this amazing framework? you can consult with GTECH Digital, the best website development company in UAE and our professional team will realize it with ease.