Ever since the creation of jQuery in 2006, web developers around the world have been using the library to help build their sites. Personally, I can’t imagine going back to writing javascript without the framework. But that doesn’t mean we can’t raise the bar a little higher.

Enter jQueryUI. 
With jQueryUI creating user interface components has never been easier. Dialog boxes? Sure. Tabs? Piece of cake. Calendars? Never been easier. A whole list of other widgets and interactions can be created, modified and used as needed when including the UI library. None of these things are new to websites, but to find them all combined into an easy-to-use and open source library is a developer’s dream. It’s popularity has been noticed not only by the community, but by other open source projects as well.

Drupal is one of them. Drupal 7 now comes with jQueryUI installed into its core. Making a good tool that much better; not just for using the system, but also for mod developers. The web development world has been shifting from inhouse framework ideas to support big open source projects. jQuery’s popularity is included in that shift, and I’m happy to see it.

It’s not that creating great websites wasn’t possible a few years ago, but today the bar for website excellence is set high, and utilizing open source tools like jQueryUI is a great way to meet it.