Zero.js - jQuery alternative?

jQuery is the defacto standard when it comes to all-purpose browser-based javascript libraries. There is no doubt unto it’s awesomeness.

However, it has been remarked upon as getting bloated and so there was born a project called jquip which aimed to reduce bulk by modularising the code and allowing custom builds that had only what was needed in them. jQuery themselves have now provided this same functionality and everything is better off for it.

Also jQuery is dropping support for some legacy IE versions and so that will cut out a lot of code that was rarely ever used. Again, that will be a massive win against bloat.

However, jQuery is the kitchen sink - or at least everything but the kitchen sink. Given that VanillaJS is so powerfull anyway, I have wondered for a long time if the main utility of jQuery could be reproduced in a small library. If I discard any browser compatilibility then we can make it even smaller. So Zero.js was born.

Zero.js is a lightweight library that does a small amount of what jQuery does but in a tiny package. I have included only the following:

• $(selector, context?) – selectors like querySelector, no :visible, etc…
• $(html)
• $(DOMElement)
• $(NodeList)
• .find(selector)
• .get(index)
• .length
• .each(fn)
• .add/remove/has -Class
• .attr(name, value?)
• .data(name, value?)
• .css(attrObj)
• .css(attr, val)
• $.ajax – which functions very differently to jQuery’s
• $.extend(obj, obj, …?)

I’d only think of using inside a controlled environment - e.g. personal tools - as it uses WeakMaps which aren’t even in the latest Chrome unless and chrome:flags switch is switched…