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JavaScript jQuery Basics (2014) Introduction to jQuery What is jQuery?

Posted by A X
A X
12,842 Points

Even though the video title is "What is jQuery" I walk away still not sure what it is or why we use it.

I've watched Andrew's beginning videos on jQuery now 3 times, and I'm still not understanding what jQuery is other than some kind of library of...commands? Can someone explain what jQuery is, why/when we use it, why the $ sign works as an abbreviation for jQuery, and what the DOM is that he introduces at the end of the video?

3 Answers

Jesus Mendoza
Jesus Mendoza
23,288 Points
Jesus Mendoza
Jesus Mendoza
23,288 Points

Have you tried watching the Introduction to jQuery course?

Vassyl Machnev
Vassyl Machnev
4,298 Points

This is probably one of the worst courses available here,i don't even know why it's included in the Front-End track. Feels like it was made in a rush,i see no connections between the lections etc. It made me sad,because learning here was(and is) going really smooth exept this "jQuery course".

Lee Zamastil
Lee Zamastil
21,628 Points
Lee Zamastil
Lee Zamastil
21,628 Points

Possibly helpful, too, is Chalkley's Beginner’s Guide to jQuery listed in the Teacher's Notes.

Natasha Godwin
Natasha Godwin
11,012 Points
Natasha Godwin
Natasha Godwin
11,012 Points

jQuery is a JavaScript framework that solves the following problems:

  1. It smooths out inconsistencies that JS has across browsers. In this sense, it's similar to what normalize.css does for styling pages.
  2. It saves loads of time. What might take 10-20 lines of code in vanilla JS will only take one in jQuery.

In short, you can add interactivity to your site, without having to worry about inconsistent user experience or site performance.

That said, there are disadvantages. If JS is disabled in the browser, for example, jQuery won't work. So, I wouldn't recommend using it for simple animations or interactions; CSS is more reliable.