Learning jQuery

Most if not all of the jQuery plugins out there have some level of customization. But very few of the plugin authors have mastered the very particular art involved. Achieving the “optimum level” of customization is a bit of a balancing act… go too far either way and you’ve got an unusable plugin!

Since the release of jQuery 1.3 a month and a half ago, I’ve been keeping my eye on any troubles that people have had with their upgrades. Fortunately, most people have had no problems at all. For those who have, the issues have almost always been in one of three areas. Identifying these areas and […]

The .append() method is perhaps the most misused of all jQuery methods. While an extremely useful and easy method to work with, it dramatically affects the performance of your page. When misused, the .append() method can cripple your JavaScript code’s performance. When used well, it’ll keep your script humming along.

One of the biggest concerns I’ve heard mentioned from users of the Prototype library about jQuery is the lack of support for various array methods. The robust features Prototype provides for arrays is of great benefit to developers that do a lot of array manipulation in their JavaScript. However, I find that after moving to […]

Although jQuery has a nice set of slide methods — .slideDown(), .slideUp(), and .slideToggle() — sometimes we may want to slide an element in a different direction. Fortunately, it’s pretty easy to do.

Easing can really bring life to an effect. Easing controls how an animation progresses over time by manipulating its acceleration. jQuery has two built-in easing methods: linear and swing. While they get the job done, they are pretty boring when compared to what’s made available through the jQuery easing plugin. The jQuery easing plugin offers […]