New Pluralsight Course: jQuery-free JavaScript

My latest course, jQuery-free JavaScript, has recently been published on Pluralsight. Thus far I’ve had a mix of both JavaScript and jQuery courses on Pluralsight, but this time I thought I’d focus on when you may consider not using jQuery and what that might look like.

In this course I explain when it’s appropriate to use jQuery and when it may not be. If you do need jQuery then I’ll discuss making a custom build that includes only the parts you need. The rest of the course is focused on converting common jQuery snippets to either use native browser APIs or utilize a popular micro-library.

Don’t get me wrong, I love jQuery. It has proven its value and it very much has its place. However, you may have seen some buzz around the web about the concept of not using it at all.

If you are looking to write a Single Page Application (SPA), then I wouldn’t recommend going this route. In that case I’d go with AngularJS, Backbone.js, Ember, or something along those lines. However, if your website or application is pretty basic and you are looking for fast interactions with a small footprint, then jQuery-free JavaScript may be something that you should consider.

In addition, it is just a good idea to know how to get around the native DOM without the necessity of a helper library such as jQuery, Dojo, MooTools, Prototype, etc…