Have We Out-Grown jQuery?

Things like "if(selector === undefined){", "typeof HTMLElement === "object"", "__dolla_handler_guid" are the typical bits as I go through Javascript code that remind me why I'm not a Javascript programmer (or at least not a enthusiastic one).

Almost 20 years in and with a de facto monopoly on the most ubiquitous medium of the 21st century, it's awful to think that it's still so coarse (the word is carefully chosen here to avoid being too inflammatory). Or maybe it's actually because it's so widespread (and getting even more so every day) that it can't be made into a cleaner and more elegant language across the board.

That being said, kudos to the author for a well-crafted article. Very interesting to follow and perfectly illustrated.

Maybe we'd better learn what tools we're using, what for and what their use entails.

We don't ougrow our tools, we outgrow the use we have for them. But today, with all the jQuery plugins landscape, it's pretty hard to outgrow it.

Who is "we?"

Catchy title... ;)