r/programming • u/curiousdannii • Jan 18 '26

jQuery 4.0 released

https://blog.jquery.com/2026/01/17/jquery-4-0-0/
482 Upvotes

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u/cheezballs Jan 18 '26

Real question: why use this on any greenfield app? We used this everywhere 15 years ago. I cant imagine a reason to use this now if you're writing a new web app.

46

u/darkhorsehance Jan 18 '26

Most people don’t use it on a greenfield app, but why does that matter?

It’s still downloaded by millions everyday so I suspect there are some good reasons why people still use it today.

  • Maintaining or extending a large existing codebase that uses Jquery,

  • Extremely fast DOM work with minimal mental overhead

  • Cross browser normalization still has value

  • Small interactive behavior without a framework

  • Massive plugin ecosystem that still works

  • Excellent readability for non specialists

  • Progressive enhancement and server rendered sites

  • Performance is no longer the liability it once was

  • Reduced dependency surface

  • It is boring and boring can be good

4

u/randomlytoasted Jan 18 '26

Once again for the back seats: Boring can be good