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Javascript vs JQuery - A Complete Overview (2024)

By James LePage
 on January 25, 2022

Javascript vs JQuery - A Complete Overview (2024)

By James LePage
 on January 25, 2022

The fact of the matter is that web development relies on various technologies that help to streamline the functionality of a web page. There are codes and language tools that are used to ensure that a web page is highly interactive. This means that these are the features that bring a web page to life so that you can use it. 

The two concepts that are used across the board to ensure that you have a dynamic web page are Javascript and JQuery. While both of these serve the same function, to write code for your web page, they aren't quite the same thing. Javascript is the fundamental language while JQuery is the library of this language. Find out more about how these concepts differ. 

What is Javascript? 

Have you ever wondered how your web pages become interactive? When it comes to building your web pages, there are commands that require them to do what you want them to. There are key technologies that are required to achieve this. 

Javascript example

These are HTML, CSS, and Javascript. While the first two play an important role in ensuring that the structure of your web page is defined, Javascript is crucial for adding the language that will relay the instructions to your web page to make sure that it's interactive. Let's say that you want your mouse to do simple tasks such as moving to the left or right of your page. You can use Javascript to communicate what you want your mouse to achieve. 

This is why on the web developing world this technology is referred to as a scripting language that is the core functionality of your web pages. In fact, the way that this scripting language is so commonly used, it's supported by every web browser that you can think of. It has been adapted into web browsers through what's known as a built-in Javascript engine. 

This is what's used to ensure that all search engines know how to identify and decipher Javascript code. Essentially, as a developer you don't get to see the benefits of using Javascript more than the client-side does. Basic Javascript that informs a web page what to do is known as procedural Javascript language. 

On the other hand, there are instances when you will require the use of advanced Javascript. This is formerly known as object-oriented language. Or, a prototype based language. 

What is JQuery? 

As time goes by, Javascript has proven to be the blueprint for language creation on web development. It has created a vast amount of frameworks and libraries that have been used to expand on it. This is an effective way to ensure that this scripting language remains useful and that it can be passed from one web developer to the next.

jquery example

As a result, JQuery has become the most popular library that has come out of Javascript. This is an open-source library that has compatibility across browsers. If you can think of any cross browser issues that you've ever experienced with Javascript, you should know that this is the library that can handle them. 

Web developers often use JQuery to help with resolving any cross browser issues that are prevalent in Javascript. The reason behind the development of this library was for it to streamline basic operations. This means that there's no longer a need for a lot of written code for a single instruction. 

Instead, JQuery can achieve the same result with just a single line code. In recent years, there's been more developers who prefer to use JQuery to write code over Javascript. 

Differences Between Javascript and JQuery 

The thing is that they both share many similarities. Yet, for you to know which is the best choice for you, you should know more about what the differences are between the two. 

1. Javascript

  • While it's the blueprint for scripting language, it's not strongly typed.
  • It's better used for the control of your documents contents and the interaction of your interface. 
  • It's time-consuming if you have to write your own code. 
  • It relies on manual code writing. This results in more browser related errors.
  • It's supported by all browsers. 
  • There are various multi browser adaptability issues.

2. JQuery 

  • It's a faster scripting library that makes other components such as animating, event handling, and Ajax interaction much simpler. 
  • It simplifies Javascript tasks. 
  • It's a time-saving alternative because you don't have to write any code except for your existing JQuery scripts. 
  • There aren't any multi browser compatibility issues that you should worry about.
  • It saves you time if you're a developer, and you need to write new lines of code. 
  • It helps to fix any errors if you've written poor quality code.

What to Use Between JQuery vs Javascript?

The fact is that you should understand that these aren't two different types of concepts. Instead, JQuery is a part of Javascript. It was developed to make it easier for web developers to deal with the various issues that they experience when working on Javascript.

In fact, if you're someone who doesn't have a lot of time on their hands, it's better for you to choose JQuery to help with writing your code, fixing errors on your code, and to help you maneuver through any browser adaptability challenges that you might face. 

Each has its pros and cons. For instance, Javascript is faster than JQuery when accessing DOM. But, to take advantage of a faster coding experience, you should consider JQuery. 

In summary, both these concepts are still very significant for web development. In fact, it's possible to say that through the advances that have been made on web browser adaptability, these concepts rely on each other to provide the results that you need for your web pages. But, if you want to focus on saving time while writing code for your web pages, it's best to stick to the simplicity of JQuery. 

However, you can always alternate between the two when you feel like you've filtered through your debugging time. 

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Article By
James LePage
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James LePage is the founder of Isotropic, a WordPress education company and digital agency. He is also the founder of CodeWP.ai, a venture backed startup bringing AI to WordPress creators.
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