Javascript

AJAX

JQuery

Alternatives to JQuery

JQuery has long been the javascript library of choice for many web developers. A javascript library simplifies the already simple javascript code with more efficient, shorter and easier to understand syntax making it easily useable for even the beginner programmer. JQuery is mainly popular because it is backed by a powerful community, supports plenty of functions and is supported by a comprehensive documentation however in some cases an alternative javascript library maybe more suited to programming a particular web application or to a particular web developer. There are quite a few competitive alternatives to JQuery, here are 5 of them:

• Prototype
  Prototype is a javascript library that is not as popular JQuery but is comprehensively used in some popular applications (such as Ruby on Rails). It provides an Ajax framework as well as other utilities as part of its framework. It also handles the XMLHttpRequest protocol which allows dynamic web pages without requiring the browser to reload the entire page.
  
  
• Ext
  Ext is similar to JQuery and Prototype providing the same functionality using different syntax, the DOM model can be accessed using the Ext framework as well as Ajax applications can be developed. It is compatible with JQuery and Prototype even though it is an entirely different library. Ext is very easy to use as it has predefined UI objects that can be instantly called into a web page, these controls include text areas, toolbars and radio buttons among several others.
  
  
• Dojo Toolkit
  Dojo is advertised as more of a 'toolkit' than a library or javascript framework itself but it qualifies as a suitable alternative to JQuery. It is opensource and consists of several javascript and Ajax based applets for immediate use. Their components allow you to create objects instantly which are complete, coded with HTML, CSS and javascript and sometimes Ajax as well.
  
  
• MooTools
  MooTools is a relatively new javascript library that is slowly appearing in the web development scene, it has gained popularity in recent times with a considerable amount of plugins developed using MooTools for the popular Wordpress blogging platform. Other popular internet brands using MooTools include Bing and Joomla.
  
  
• Script.aculo.us
  Script.aculo.us is built on the Prototype framework but it is a separate Javascript library in itself, script.aculo.us is mainly known for its use in the popular Ruby on Rails platform. A great feature bundled with this library is the effects that can be instantly applied to objects in a web page using the DOM.
  
  

Those were 5 of the popular Javascript libraries, there are several other less popular libraries to choose from as well as custom libraries built by developers for their own personal use. I myself really prefer to stick to jQuery, because of its simplicity.