I have been away from computers for about 3 years and starting to get back into

Question

I have been away from computers for about 3 years and starting to get back into programming. Lots has changed in resources and help sites available on the web especially the evolving StackExchange community. I come from the IRC #javascript, #html, #php days with php.net and a bit of google search finds here and there.

With that said, before I took my break from programming JQuery was around but not nearly as common as today. I personally stay away from it finding it easier to just write what I need done in traditional javascript.

Now I have just stumbled across AngularJS. I do not know much about it, just looked at the home page and saw a few script samples.

My question is:

Am I hindering my clients by using javascript while being ignorant to JQuery and/or AngularJS?

Explanation / Answer

It depends on whether or not you're writing a lot of bare Javascript code to perform functions that are already well-served (or perhaps better served) by the libraries.

In the specific case of jQuery, it is specifically designed to provide a library of useful functions in a cross-browser independent way. So if you're writing a lot of hackish code to get around browser incompatibilities, jQuery can especially useful in that regard.

Libraries like AngularJS perform (among other things) a binding/templating function; that is, they allow you to bind data to your web page so that it is displayed in the page. In addition, Angular provides support for several modern software patterns and a significant amount of sensible architecture.

What does this buy you? Leverage, especially if you're writing even a moderately-sized web application. Leverage means writing larger, more stable, more easily maintainable applications.

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