Getting Started with jQuery

• What is jQuery?
• How to use jQuery

In order to use jQuery, you need to include the jQuery libary in your web page.

The jQuery library comes as a downloadable .js file. You need to include this file in any document that needs to run jQuery. Alternatively you can link to a CDN such as Google's.

Download jQuery

If you choose this option, you can download jQuery from the jQuery website.

Compressed and uncompressed copies are available. The compressed copy is more suitable for production sites, as it is smaller and uses less bandwidth. The uncompressed version can be used for development or debugging. However, unless you plan to change/check the jQuery library itself, the compressed copy should be fine for both production and development.

Be sure to place the file in a directory within your website, then link to it using the script element.

Like this:

However, it's usually a good idea to keep the file name the same as when you downloaded it, as it contains the jQuery version. Also, most sites have a separate folder for their javascript files so you'll need to use the full path in this case.

So your HTML document might look something like this:

The scripts don't necessarily need to go in the document head element. They can go in the body element if required.

Using a Content Delivery Network (CDN)

Alternatively you can use a content delivery network (CDN) to deliver your jQuery. The examples in this tutorial use this option.

Here's an example of linking to jQuery on Google Hosted Libraries:

So your HTML document might look something like this:

The Microsoft Ajax Content Delivery Network also hosts jQuery, so that's another option.

• What is jQuery?
• How to use jQuery