jQuery UI 1.7 vs 1.8

Question

I have only used jQuery UI a tiny amount and do not know it very well. If I pick up a book on jQuery UI 1.7 will it still be relevant (for the most part) to 1.8?

Answer 1

As far as I know there are no incompatible changes between those two versions of jquery ui. 1.8 version adds some new features (buttons, autocomplete) and it also uses more mature version of jquery (1.4.2).

I also made some upgrade from 1.7 to 1.8 in one fo my proejct and it works like a charm.

So if you want to learn jquery you can use book for 1.7 although it would be learn also about new (nice) features.

You can check jquery blog for more detailed information.

Answer 2

In a typical versioning number scheme (x.y.z), the first number, x, indicates major changes to the API, potentially not backwards compatible, host of new features, etc. As is the case with jQuery UI, the second number, y, indicates minor updates, bug fixes, slight improvements, etc. If the jQuery UI team follows this convention (which they appear to do), then you should be fine getting a 1.7 book.

With all that said - once you learn the basics of jQuery UI, you can quickly jump up to any changes that are made. And, having used the jQuery UI, I have not noticed anything so different between those two versions that you can't learn 1.7 and then move into 1.8.