jQuery is a JavaScript library that made web development easier — especially during the messy early days of cross-browser chaos.
Released in 2006, jQuery let developers do more with less code. You could animate elements, fetch data with AJAX, or manipulate the DOM without writing long, repetitive vanilla JavaScript. It smoothed over browser differences (looking at you, Internet Explorer) and made it possible to build interactive websites faster and with fewer bugs.
What made jQuery such a big deal?
At the time, it was a game-changer. One line of jQuery could replace 10 lines of traditional JavaScript. Want to hide a button when someone clicks it? $(“#myButton”).hide(); — that’s it. For nearly a decade, jQuery was everywhere: it powered millions of sites, blogs, and apps.
While it’s used less today (thanks to newer frameworks like React or Vue), jQuery still runs on tons of legacy systems — and it’s a great stepping stone for learning JavaScript.
Want to check it out? Visit jQuery.com
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