We’ve been really into jQuery at our office for the past few weeks, and I have to say that I am absolutely in love with it. Coming from the world of writing “classical” JavaScript in “long-hand” format, jQuery appears damn close to magic; I half-expect a mystical gnome to pop out of my monitor when I use some of the more elaborate jQuery techniques. It’s that good. If you still do JavaScript old-school, I would urge you by any means necessary to pick up and learn one of the several standardized JavaScript support libraries. It can only speed up your JS development, decrease your bugs, and perform some really cool JS acrobatics with relative ease. If you have any aspirations of utilizing Ajax techniques, frameworks are practically a requirement. The legwork involved in setting up an Ajax request manually is a real pain. [aside]While a framework enables relatively easy Ajax effects, I recommend you build a simple Ajax effect totally on your own. I had a background in PHP/MySQL development before I even touched Ajax, and the experience was still challenging. Now when I use framework-powered Ajax, I know what’s going on behind the scenes, which makes me a better coder. Hmm, good future post fodder…[end aside] Any of the big-name frameworks will get you started. When making your decision about where to start, I have one piece of advice: just pick one! Each has strengths and weaknesses, depending on your skill level and how you intend to implement it. The worst way to go about this would be to go around the web looking for insider advice on which one is the “best.” You’ll only find yourself in the middle of nit-picky flame wars. Such ridiculous arguments over different coding techniques/ tools are called “holy wars.” I find the term accurate. At the same time, I don’t want you to wonder endlessly. Here’s what I would consider the top 4 (in no particular order):

• Prototype
• Script.aculo.us
• MooTools
• jQuery (natch)

Due to the nature of my work, most of my JavaScript is custom, and so I find the more “firm” frameworks restrictive. I personally lean towards jQuery because it focused on changing how you write core JavaScript, as opposed to providing me with prefab effects and formulas. But if your needs are simpler, the more formulaic frameworks, Script.aculo.us in particular, will suit you very well. Before you start your next project involving JavaScript, learn to use a framework.  I promise you’ll wonder how the heck you got by with out it.