jQuery: Getting Started

Introduction
Hi this is Craig Shoemaker and I'm excited about your journey in learning jQuery. Building modern interactive websites can be a lot of fun and even more satisfying when you stay productive by leveraging a rock solid library, like jQuery. In this course, you'll learn what you need to get started with jQuery, as well as walk away with the foundation that you need to continue your learning with other courses. As a first step, let's begin with a short preview of what's to come in jQuery: Getting Started.

Anatomy of a jQuery Command
Code can be cryptic at times, almost like we're speaking in, well, code. Well, this module is all about demystifying the jQuery syntax, so that as you continue to learn more about jQuery, even beyond this introductory course, you'll have all you need to decipher unfamiliar code. So, let's start by taking a look at a few of the simplest jQuery statements possible. Ah, the venerated Hello World demo. As you can see, when executed in the browser, the code prints hello world in the console. But there might be some things you consider strange going on here, so let's take a look at this code piece by piece.

Finding Parts of a Page
One of jQuery's greatest strengths is its ability to find parts of the page in an easy and reliable way. Modern web pages are often complex with hundreds of elements on a single page, so being able to easily find just what you're looking for is crucial, and jQuery makes this a snap. In this module, we'll discuss many different ways to find parts of a page. All right, let's go ahead and get started.

Adding Style and Effects with a Little Class
Often one of the most common actions developers want to do after elements are selected is to change how they look. This module demonstrates how to manipulate the styles applied to selected elements, and how to do it all via jQuery.

When Events Happen
When events happen, well, you want to be able to do something interesting in your applications. So let's talk just for a moment about what events exactly are, so you have a clear picture as we get into the jQuery examples.

Chaining Makes It Easer
In this short module, I introduce you to a technique called chaining that will make your code easier to read and more efficient, so let's go ahead and get started right with some demos.

Working with User Input
Closing the circle for an interactive website is allowing your webpages to accept user input. In this module, I show you strategies for reading user input using jQuery. Please note that as this is a getting started course, I don't cover forms in the context of dealing with posting data to the server. For that information, you'll want to dive in deeper with one of the other jQuery courses here on Pluralsight. For now, let's get started by working with textboxes and textareas.

The Big Picture
This final module is meant to leave you with the context and perspective you need to continue your learning in jQuery development. Here I'll share with you some coding tips, and explain how jQuery fits into the overall web development ecosystem. So let's begin by discussing the different versions of jQuery that are available.