The Web Revolutionary

     One of the reasons why web development is enjoyable nowadays is that there are tools -- costing nothing but a deal of patience and self-learning -- that let you create interesting, catchy and interactive websites. Three months ago, I started to learn this useful and powerful tool you can use to attract and impress visitors to your website/blog and add life to the dullest webpages. 

     This tool is called jQuery -- a JavaScript library that basically makes coding in JavaScript a lot simpler and easier. If you're already familiar with JavaScript, then you won't have a hard time learning jQuery. I like this tool for three reasons:

• It's free. Who doesn't love free stuffs? It's like choosing between a slightly-used and a brand-new book. Same content but the former is given away.
• It doesn't require plug-ins/high-end software and hardware. You don't need to download and install megabytes of software to get started. You don't have to opt for an 8-Gig RAM or a 64-bit CPU either. All you need is a text editor and a browser.
• It's easy to learn. Geeks are not only obsessed with free stuffs, but they're also itching to show off. Lots of tutorials and demos are available if you just know what to google and even if you've lost all ten fingers, you could still use a mic. To kick off, you can visit http://docs.jquery.com/Main_Page.   

     Of course, I won't be bias to the point of evangelizing this product. There are caveats also and my personal observations are as follows:

• It's not the better choice for animations/presentations. If you're into snazziness, Adobe Flash would be better. The modern web is all about simplicity and interactivity though.
• It has cross-browser issues. I've noticed that running on Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome works fine. Running on Internet Explorer may result to a total disaster! 
• It's damn hardcoding. If you're into rapid application development, then this tool may not be a wise option. There are other free stuffs out there that could help you do things faster.

     It is said that this decade starting 2011 is "The Rise of Social Media." Everything on the web has transformed from a mere display of static information to a hob-knob of people from all walks of life. We've seen how the web united and divided the world and influenced our views and opinions on critical matters. Let's keep vigilant because we have the power to change the world at our fingertips--we are the web revolutionary.

Note: I created the slideshow on the Advertisements section at the right using jQuery. *grinning*