What is "$" in jquery framework?

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What is the $ in jQuery?

We know that $ is an alias of jQuery, while using jQuery javascript framework.

But internally what $ is ?

I mean whether it is an object, function or other thing?

jfriend00 · Accepted Answer · 2011-07-15T08:02:49.047

2

$ is a function object in jQuery. It can take a number of different types of parameters or methods. That's why you will see things like:

$("#content")

In that use, it's just a function - identical to:

jQuery("#content")

In this example, it returns an object that contains both the collection of DOM items matching the passed in CSS string and has a whole bunch of methods that let you operate on that collection of items it returned such as:

var html = $("#content").html()

to get the innerHTML of that DOM object.

It is usually used like a function $(params), but can also has methods as an object $.get().

But, most of all $ is just a symbol for a function object that also has methods. It could be called foo or anything else so it's not anything unusual in Javascript.

edited Jul 15 '11 at 08:02

answered Jul 15 '11 at 07:43

jfriend00

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Not *just* a function. E.g. you can do `$.get('myhtmlpage.html', myCallBack);` which would not be possible unless `$` were also an object. See @Steffen's answer. – LarsH Jul 15 '11 at 07:46
Since all functions are also objects in JS, I called it a function. In any case, I've enhanced my choice of wording. – jfriend00 Jul 15 '11 at 07:50

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Jul 15 '11 at 07:43

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$ is just and alias. Its same as jQuery Object. That is its reference to jQuery Object.

answered Jul 15 '11 at 07:43

sushil bharwani

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This answer is just repeating parts of the question. Why are people upvoting it? – LarsH Jul 15 '11 at 07:49

score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Jul 15 '11 at 07:43

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$ is an object, just like jQuery is. Besides, all objects in javascript are functions and all functions are objects.

answered Jul 15 '11 at 07:43

Steffen

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To understand recursion, one has to first understand recursion. – Jacob Jul 15 '11 at 07:43
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+1 this is the only completely right answer so far. – LarsH Jul 15 '11 at 07:47
@Cularis - This is what they call out of the box solution. – Jatin Dhoot Jul 15 '11 at 08:49

score 0 · Answer 4 · answered Jul 15 '11 at 07:43

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$ is a variable in exactly the same way that jQuery is a variable. And its value is a function.

answered Jul 15 '11 at 07:43

Peter

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score 0 · Answer 5 · answered Jul 15 '11 at 07:43

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It's just a pointer to the JQuery prototype function.

answered Jul 15 '11 at 07:43

AlienWebguy

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What is "$" in jquery framework?

5 Answers5