The Sensational Release of jQuery 4.0.0 and the End of Framework Dictatorship
Source: Dev.to
jQuery 4.0.0 Released
jQuery 4.0.0 has been officially released. After being considered legacy, the library has shed its old baggage, become lighter, and returned at a moment when many developers are looking for a simpler solution for basic interactivity.
Over‑engineering in Modern Front‑end Development
Today it is common to deploy React, Vue, or similar frameworks even for simple tasks such as toggling a class or submitting a landing‑page form. Massive dependency trees are created for basic interactivity, often justified by “scalability” that most projects will never actually need.
What’s New in jQuery 4.0.0
- Removed legacy support – Internet Explorer and outdated APIs are no longer bundled.
- Smaller footprint – The cleanup makes the library significantly lighter, improving performance.
- ES‑module based – jQuery 4.0.0 is delivered as modern ES modules, ready for direct use in the browser without heavy bundler configurations.
A Practical Alternative to Heavy Frameworks
When building a promo page or a corporate site in an evening, you don’t need hooks, state managers, or extensive bundler setups. jQuery 4.0.0 provides a tool that works directly in the browser and keeps page size low.
Philosophical Competition with React and Vue
The debate is less about features and more about engineering overhead versus common sense. The release shows that, for many small projects and landing pages, a lightweight library can be a logical choice compared to bloated frameworks.
A Call for Simpler Solutions
Not every website needs a complex single‑page application. Sometimes connecting a single lightweight file and finishing the job in minutes is preferable to spending hours configuring an architecture that only adds complexity.