Table of Contents

In Chapter 1, Anatomy of a jQuery Script, we begin by dissecting a working jQuery example. This script will serve as a roadmap for this book, directing you to the chapters containing more information on particular jQuery capabilities. The heart of the book is a set of reference chapters that allow you to quickly look up the details of any jQuery method. Chapter 2, Selector Expressions, lists every available selector for finding page elements. Chapter 3, DOM Traversal Methods, builds on the previous chapter with a catalog of jQuery methods for finding page elements. Chapter 4, DOM Manipulation Methods, describes every opportunity for inspecting and modifying the HTML structure of a page. Chapter 5, Event Methods, details each event that can be triggered and reacted to by jQuery. Chapter 6, Effect Methods, defines the range of animations built into jQuery, as well as the toolkit available for building your own. Chapter 7, AJAX Methods lists the ways in which jQuery can initiate and respond to server communication without refreshing the page. Chapter 8, Miscellaneous Methods, covers the remaining capabilities of the jQuery library that don't neatly fit into the other categories. In the final three chapters, we dive into the extension mechanisms jQuery makes available. Chapter 9, Plug-in API, reveals four major ways to enhance jQuery's already robust capabilities using a plug-in. The chapter shows how to use plug-ins and we develop a custom plug-in from the ground up. Chapter 10, Dimensions Plug-in, walks you through the advanced measurement tools available in this popular plug-in. Chapter 11, Form Plug-in, empowers you to bring AJAX technology and HTML forms together, a process which is made easy by this plug-in. Appendix A, Online Resources, provides a handful of informative websites on a wide range of topics related to jQuery, JavaScript, and web development in general. Appendix B, Development Tools, recommends a number of useful third-party programs and utilities for editing and debugging jQuery code within your personal development environment.

About the Author

Jonathan Chaffer is the Chief Technology Officer of Structure Interactive, an interactive agency located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. There he oversees web development projects using a wide range of technologies, and continues to collaborate on day-to-day programming tasks as well. In the open-source community, Jonathan has been very active in the Drupal CMS project, which has adopted jQuery as its JavaScript framework of choice. He is the creator of the Content Construction Kit, a popular module for managing structured content on Drupal sites. He is responsible for major overhauls of Drupal's menu system and developer API reference. Jonathan lives in Grand Rapids with his wife, Jennifer.