An Introduction
The software development field is incredibly wide – an entire series could be devoted to the various fields in which people write code.
Out of all of the fields, I say that getting started in web development is easiest – all you need is a connection to the Internet and a text editor. With JavaScript becoming so mainstream, I think its important for all web developers to be comfortable working with the language and its related frameworks.
As jQuery has become one of the most widely used JavaScript libraries, it’s a solid foundation for learning to work with JavaScript.
This series is going to focus on creating a jQuery plugin from the ground up. It’s tailored for beginners but applicable to anyone that wants to learn how to write a jQuery plugin.
What’s Expected?
This series is going to assume that you’re comfortable using a text editor, writing a bit of HTML and CSS, and are comfortable learning a new language.
I’m assuming that you know absolutely no JavaScript (though if you do, that’s a plus!).
I’m going to approach the plugin-development process as I would any software project: from ideation, planning, development, and deployment.
My ultimate goal is to equip you with all of the information and reference material that you need in order to build your own jQuery plugins.
The Roadmap
Here’s what you can expect over the next few weeks as we work through this series:
- Required Development Tools
- Project Requirements and Planning
- Understanding jQuery’s Model For Plugin Development
- Using The $ Function When Writing a jQuery Plugin
- Developing a Slideshow jQuery Plugin, Iteration One
- Developing a Slideshow jQuery Plugin, Iteration Two
- Deploying Your jQuery Plugin
Throughout this series, I’ll be including code examples, downloadable material, and links to all relevant jQuery API’s. I’m also going to be explaining aspects of the JavaScript language so that you understand exactly what it is that we’re doing.
Feel free to bookmark this page – this serves as the landing page for the entire series!
Brian Notess says
I’m excited about this.
I mean,
I’m excited about this!
Tom McFarlin says
🙂
Kyle Reed says
I said on Saturday that I wanted someone to show me how to use jquery, perfect timing.
Looking forward to it.
Tom McFarlin says
Sweet – hopefully this will be beneficial. I’m trying to gear it towards people that may have never written any JavaScript in their life.
Eric Dye says
Sweet!!!
Tom McFarlin says
Indeed!
Josh Wagner says
Gotta say, you guys are awesome. Keep this up and I won’t need to go to any other site for my primer guides!
Tom McFarlin says
Appreciate it, Josh. We’ve got more coming.. 🙂
Dustin W. Stout says
Thank you for writing this! I am a graphic designer looking to venture into the world of web development. I can’t wait to see where this goes!
Tom McFarlin says
Sure thing, Dustin.
We’ve got more tutorials in the pipeline, too :).