[jQuery] A better way to update jQuery & Plug-ins...
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<p class=MsoNormal>jQuery Team, Plug-in Developers, and Users:<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal>We recently discussed this, and nothing much came of the
discussion, but<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal>now that jQuery 1.2 has been released, the problem is more clearly
evident than ever,<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal>it seems to me.<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal>There has got to be a better way to handle new releases of
jQuery and determine<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal>which plug-ins are still or are no longer partially or
completely compatible with the<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal>new jQuery verison.<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal>I’ve noticed that most of the discussion on the list
recently seems to revolve around<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal>topics stating that a particular plug-in is having problems
with the new jQ version and<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal>does anyone know how to get this working?<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Too much time and energy has to go into determining what
plug-ins or even part of<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal>plug-ins still or no longer work with the current version of
jQuery.<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal>The approach now is simply “trial-and-error” on
the part of users and if something<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal>breaks, try to find someone who has had a similar problem
and ask how they solved it.<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal>We’ve got versions of jQuery and plug-ins all over the
map and the only way to determine<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal>what works together is to try it and see if it breaks.
Then the hunt begins for a solution.<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal>If none is found, the user must go back to an earlier
version of jQuery that does work,<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal>and forget about using new jQuery features in the current
version until all necessary<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal>plug-ins and dependencies on a particular site are brought
up-to-date.<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal>This is not a satisfactory way of proceeding…<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal>I believe we should have the following setup for updating
jQuery and plug-ins:<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal>First of all, we should have a list of various jQuery
versions available:<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p>
<p class=MsoListParagraph style='margin-left:.75in;text-indent:-.25in;
mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>-<span
style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>
</span></span><![endif]>previously stable, released versions of jQuery<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoListParagraph style='margin-left:.75in;text-indent:-.25in;
mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>-<span
style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>
</span></span><![endif]>the current stable release of jQuery<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoListParagraph style='margin-left:.75in;text-indent:-.25in;
mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>-<span
style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>
</span></span><![endif]>the “under-development”, next release of
jQuery for those who want to test<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Secondly, a list of plug-ins that are officially recognized
by the jQuery team:<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p>
<p class=MsoListParagraph style='margin-left:.75in;text-indent:-.25in;
mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>-<span
style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>
</span></span><![endif]>plug-ins that have been placed on an official list by
the jQuery team as having<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoListParagraph style='margin-left:.75in'>met certain conditions to
be declared “official”:<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoListParagraph style='margin-left:.75in'><o:p> </o:p>
<p class=MsoListParagraph style='margin-left:1.25in;text-indent:-.25in;
mso-list:l0 level2 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><span style='font-family:"Courier New"'><span
style='mso-list:Ignore'>o<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>
</span></span></span><![endif]>Plug-in developer has tested plug-in with one or
more versions of jQuery<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoListParagraph style='margin-left:1.25in'>and deemed it to be stable
and versions are listed with plug-in description<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoListParagraph style='margin-left:1.25in;text-indent:-.25in;
mso-list:l0 level2 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><span style='font-family:"Courier New"'><span
style='mso-list:Ignore'>o<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>
</span></span></span><![endif]>All dependencies of this official plug-in are
listed and are tested and<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.25in'>declared compatible with various
version of jQuery<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoListParagraph style='margin-left:1.25in;text-indent:-.25in;
mso-list:l0 level2 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><span style='font-family:"Courier New"'><span
style='mso-list:Ignore'>o<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>
</span></span></span><![endif]>If problems come up with an official plug-in,
then the plug-in is simply<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.25in'>pulled off the official list, or
at least a warning is posted, until the issue(s)<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.25in'>are resolved<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p>
<p class=MsoListParagraph style='margin-left:.75in;text-indent:-.25in;
mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>-<span
style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>
</span></span><![endif]>a setup such as this would by no means require
developers of “official” plug-ins<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoListParagraph style='margin-left:.75in'>to have to keep their
plug-ins compatible with new jQuery versions, users just have<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoListParagraph style='margin-left:.75in'>to know that they’re
not compatible<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoListParagraph style='margin-left:.75in;text-indent:-.25in;
mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>-<span
style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>
</span></span><![endif]>there would also be a list of “unofficial”
plugins… those plug-ins that are<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoListParagraph style='margin-left:.75in'>available, but have not
gone through the trials and testing by the developer to meet<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoListParagraph style='margin-left:.75in'>the standards for an “official”
plug-in<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal>A jQuery/Plug-In setup such as this would allow a potential
jQuery or plug-in user to go to a page,<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal>select a jQuery version and display all “official”
(see above) plug-ins available, as well as previously<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal>official plug-ins which have not yet met current “official”
standards for the latest jQuery version.<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal>All official plug-ins would be required to list all
dependencies and state whether or not the plug-ins<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal>are working with their dependent plug-ins.<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal>The same setup would work by allowing a user to select a
plug-in and have the system return<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal>compatibility information for all jQuery versions, including
version numbers, and compatibility<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal>information for all dependent plug-ins, including version
numbers.<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Part of this system could be a wiki site where users could
provide anecdotal evidence and experiences<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal>of jQuery and plug-in usage and code examples.<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal>I’ll stop here… I’m sure there’s
more that could be added.<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Perhaps this has already been done in whole or in part.<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal>But as the popularity of jQuery increases, the number of new
users increases, and therefore, the<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal>number of users who aren’t experienced enough with the
day-to-day information concerning<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal>jQuery and plug-ins to know “off the top of their head”
what works and what doesn’t.<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal>I’ll be glad to volunteer to design, code, host, and
create the site and database needed.<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal>I’m not experienced enough with jQuery to provide all
the info to put into the system. I could create<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal>a login for jQuery team members and plug-in developers so
they could maintain their information<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal>in the system. This would be the best and most
accurate way to keep accuracy in the data, anyway.<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal>I have enjoyed my limited experience with jQuery and find it
very user-friendly, especially since I have<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal>no background in Javascript. As ColdFusion has made
web-app development available to me with no<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal>app development background, so has jQuery made Javascript
development available to me with no<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Javascript background.<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal>But as the jQuery landscape grows more complicated and dense
with growth, it’s becoming harder and<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal>harder to navigate the jQuery terrain. For those of us
who want to “pop-in” and find some functionality,<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal>and then re-visit jQuery land in a few month’s
time, a system like this is necessary. Otherwise, we spend<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal>too much time wandering around lost and seeking information,
when we need to be productive.<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Just some thoughts on the present situation.<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Other thoughts, anyone?<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Thanks,<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Rick<o:p></o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p>
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