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What is jQuery

jQuery is a fast, small, and feature-rich JavaScript library. It is an open-source project that simplifies the interactions between an HTML document, or Document Object Model (DOM), and JavaScript.

Understanding jQuery​

The purpose of jQuery is to make it much easier to use JavaScript on your website. By simplifying HTML document traversal, manipulation, event handling, and animation, jQuery helps developers to create powerful, dynamic web pages and web applications.

The Benefits of jQuery​

Here are a few key benefits of jQuery:

  1. Simplicity - jQuery simplifies common JavaScript tasks, and therefore cuts down on the amount of code you need to write. For instance, jQuery allows you to select elements with ease, navigate the DOM, and create animations with just a line of code.

  2. Cross-Browser Compatibility - jQuery ensures that your code will work consistently across all browsers. This means you don't have to worry about your web application functioning differently in different environments.

  3. Ajax Support - jQuery allows you to easily handle AJAX calls, which is a huge advantage for creating seamless and dynamic web applications.

  4. Powerful & Flexible - With a wealth of plugins and a flexible API, jQuery can be tailored to suit your needs, making it a powerful tool for web development.

jQuery vs JavaScript​

jQuery is not a language, but it is a well written JavaScript code. As quoted on the official jQuery website, "it makes things like HTML document traversal and manipulation, event handling, and animation much simpler with an easy-to-use API that works across a multitude of browsers".

In simpler terms, jQuery acts as an interface between JavaScript and HTML. It simplifies the complex tasks from JavaScript, by providing simple syntax.

How to Use jQuery?​

To get started with jQuery, you need to include the jQuery library in your project. This can be done by including a link to the library in the script tag of your HTML file.

Here is an example of how to include jQuery:

<script src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/3.5.1/jquery.min.js"></script>

Once you've included the jQuery library in your project, you can start using jQuery syntax to select, manipulate, and handle events on elements in your HTML document.

Here is a simple example of how to use jQuery to hide an HTML element:

$(document).ready(function(){
  $("button").click(function(){
    $("p").hide();
  });
});

In this example, $(document).ready() is a jQuery event method which executes the function once the HTML document has fully loaded. The $ sign is used to define/access jQuery. The $("button").click() is a jQuery event method that attaches an event handler to the click event. The function inside this method hides the paragraph when the button is clicked.

Conclusion​

In conclusion, jQuery is an extremely valuable tool for any web developer. It simplifies JavaScript programming and brings a lot of functionality and dynamism to websites with less coding effort. As you dive deeper into jQuery, you'll discover even more ways it can improve your web development process and enhance the user experience on your websites.