Name: jQuery JavaScript Library
URL: http://jquery.com
Native Server Environment: None
Included Widgets: None
Download Size: 22 KB (compressed)

jQuery is an extremely powerful way to access and manipulate the DOM. Fundamentally, jQuery is a query tool that encapsulates DOM elements & provides hooks for events, effects and many other useful things. It is this fast and simple way of querying a document for given nodes & manipulating the nodes that gives jQuery it’s power & name.

The fundamental drawback of jQuery is the long and rather convoluted syntax that can emerge as one tries to navigate more complex action and events. Also, although the library is excellent for accessing the DOM, The same syntax can be quite cumbersome when applied to AJAX requests.


Some Highlights

• Tiny download size
  
• Extremely Flexible
  
• Powerful animation & effect tools
• Unique and poweful manipulation & traversal of the DOM
  

Some Drawbacks

• Command Strings can be long & difficult to debug
  
• No Advanced widgets.
• Lacking in API’s for date manipulation
  
• Utilities class, while useful, doesn’t contain much.