Both jQuery and React are popular JavaScript libraries that produce very similar results despite using very different techniques. While jQuery is a utility library that allows full stack developers to build web apps with JavaScript easily, React is a library that allows HTML to be embedded within JavaScript.

However, there is often a lot of confusion and questions surrounding both libraries. What kind of project can be built with each of them, if they can be used for the same project, or if one is better suited for you than the other?

What is jQuery?

Essentially, jQuery is a 'lightweight' JavaScript library. JavaScript was not widely used or even simply when it first appeared in 2006. But jQuery revolutionized the industry by encapsulating many lines of JavaScript code into methods that can be called with a single line of code. The phrase ''write less, do more'' can define jQuery exclusively.

It also simplifies complex JavaScript calls, such as AJAX and DOM manipulation. So it actually made the transition from developing traditional websites to truly dynamic web apps painless.

jQuery is the most popular and extensible JavaScript library to date. Many large companies, including Google, Microsoft, and IBM, use jQuery on the web.

jQuery Functions

• jQuery can manipulate HTML/DOM.
• It also encapsulates HTML event methods.
• It allows you to manage CSS.
• jQuery makes it easier to use effects and animations.
• jQuery simplifies AJAX calls.
• It is a collection of various utilities, including plugins, for almost any task imaginable.
• jQuery behaves identically in nearly all major browsers.

Learn more about jQuery and other libraries by joining the Full Stack Web Developer Course, developed in accreditation with IBM. 

Benefits of Using jQuery in Full Stack Development 

Let's look at the application of this, one of the most popular full-stack developer languages:

• SEO-friendly –  Does it matter if your website is the most visually appealing if you sacrifice design for SEO? How your website is coded greatly impacts how Google, Bing, and other search engines index it. As previously stated, jQuery can be optimized for search engines, and developers can benefit from various plugins. For jQuery elements, unordered list embedding is a good, SEO-friendly technique.

• Simplicity –  Because jQuery, one of the best full-stack developer languages, is built on shorter, simpler code, developers find it intuitive and simple to grasp. Developers can deliver an application or website more quickly using open coding standards and simple syntax. Furthermore, web designers and programmers do not have to be experts at creating visually appealing layouts for their websites. Anyone who has spent hours designing and testing CSS files will appreciate jQuery's simple implementation.

• Open Source library – jQuery is a free and open-source library that is widely used in various applications. No licensing or compatibility issues are required for anyone to use this language in their applications. Furthermore, Microsoft has formally integrated jQuery into the Visual Studio 2010 IDE. Again, JQuery, one of the best full-stack developer programming languages, is now well-supported in Visual Studio 2010.

What is React?

React is an open-source, declarative, efficient, and extremely flexible JavaScript library developed by Facebook in 2011, primarily to create interactive UI elements. Before React, developers had to build UIs by hand using raw JavaScript or React predecessors like jQuery, which took longer and was less accurate. All of that changed with React.

React provides reusable library code, which reduces total development time and narrows the scope of errors. Developers can use React to create large-scale, dynamic-looking single-page applications that are sophisticated but easy to use.

In addition, React has two distinguishing features that set it apart from other libraries: JSX and Virtual DOM.

React Functions

• When developers use React, they gain access to React code snippets and components, allowing them to create specific parts of a User Interface.
• You can directly manipulate DOM using JSX.
• It also includes a Virtual DOM to boost website performance.
• It is a free and open-source project.
• There is a React library for any specific UI function that a developer needs to address.
• The React library is rapidly expanding, as are the community-curated library add-ons.

Benefits of Using React

You now understand what React is and what its features are. Let's look at the benefits of React and why you should learn it for full stack development. 

• Simple to use - ReactJS is significantly easier to use and learn. It contains many instruction manuals, guides, and training materials. Any developer with JavaScript experience can quickly learn React and start building web applications.

• It has reusable features - Each component comprising a React web application has its own logic and controls. These sections are in charge of generating a short, reusable chunk of HTML code that you can use wherever you need it. Reusable code makes it easier to develop and maintain your apps. Because these components can nest with other components, complex applications can be built from basic building blocks.

• It was difficult to Develop web applications using HTML strings due to the complex scripting required, but React has made it easier. It has more functionality while requiring less coding. It employs the JavaScript Extension (JSX), a syntax that allows for rendering specific subcomponents via HTML quotes and tag syntax.

By now you know that jQuery and react are effective javascript libraries for full stack developers. Each has its unique features and if you learn both, employers will definitely get impressed. If you are a beginner in development and want to learn Javascripts and its libraries, register in the Best DSA Course Online from Learnbay and become job-ready.