This may seem like an odd question, but does anyone know the origin of the jQuery name? How did it come to be called "jQuery"?
+7
A:
As I understand it, it is because it gives you a way to 'query' the DOM using the selectors. The 'j' is for Javascript
Glenn Slaven
2009-10-07 22:01:15
as opposed to uppercase J that relates to Java.
Chetan Sastry
2009-10-07 22:02:50
Yeah, that's what I figured but I'm being asked for a verifiable source that I can quote. It seems that everyone just assumes (most likely correctly) that it's due to the queryable nature of the DOM.
Phil.Wheeler
2009-10-07 22:08:40
Don't most of the querying features come from the sizzle JS selector library?
karim79
2009-10-07 22:09:57
@karim, before Sizzle was created jQuery used its own selector engine.
J-P
2009-10-07 22:16:02
@karim79 - now they do, although jQuery was originally conceived to do just this one thing. Sizzle didn't come along until jQuery 1.3. See The History of jQuery: http://docs.jquery.com/History_of_jQuery. No mention there that I could see of where the name came from, but it seems to have had that name from the beginning.
tvanfosson
2009-10-07 22:16:38
@J-P - Ah, didn't know that.
karim79
2009-10-07 22:17:44
+7
A:
From John Resig himself:
I was, originally, going to use JSelect, but all the domain names were taken already.
That was in reply to a comment from Kris De Volder, the creator of the Eclipse plugin, "JQuery" (with a capital "J"):
Did you do a websearch before decding name you script language "JQuery"? There are in fact already two other thing that are called JQuery out there.
Source: http://ejohn.org/blog/barcampnyc-wrap-up/ (see the comments)
J-P
2009-10-07 22:27:08
Dean Edwards’ cssQuery (see http://dean.edwards.name/my/cssQuery/) might also had an influence on the name (see http://www.slideshare.net/jeresig/history-of-jquery).
Gumbo
2009-10-07 22:32:41