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We’ve removed the inline event handlers and replaced them with jQuery event handlers,
separating the content and behavior. Now if we want to add more menu items,
we don’t have to copy and paste the same batch of event handlers; instead, the event
handler will automatically be added.
We have also moved the style rules for the hover effect into a CSS class, separating the
behavior and presentation. If we want to change the styling for the hover effect later,
we can just update the stylesheet instead of having to modify the markup.
Discussion
While an “all in one” HTML file with onevent attributes works fine in a small, simple
page, it doesn’t scale up very well. As your pages get more complex, separating presentation
and behavior makes the code easier to maintain.
We didn’t do it in this simple example, but if you have multiple pages using the same
JavaScript or CSS code, move that code to a common .js or .css file. That way it will
be downloaded into the browser cache once, instead of being re-sent on every page
load. As a result, once one of your pages has been visited, the rest will load faster.
5.20 Using jQuery for Progressive Enhancement
Problem
You want to build a site that allows simple task management with a great user experience
using animations and Ajax, but you also want to support users who have JavaScript
disabled.
Solution
You can build the site to work without all the flashiness and then unobtrusively add
the JavaScript functionality:
Task List
128 | Chapter 5: Faster, Simpler, More Fun