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Double Click: Try Out the New Releases for jQuery UI & Lit

This article was written over 18 months ago and may contain information that is out of date. Some content may be relevant but please refer to the relevant official documentation or available resources for the latest information.

Welcome to the Double Click! This is the weekly blog series that shines a spotlight on emerging technologies, technological concepts, and community projects that enrich the JavaScript Ecosystem!

This week, I’m diving into some updates from two web development technologies that have recently seen updated releases: jQuery UI & Lit.

jQuery 1.13.0-rc.2

jQuery UI is a popular JavaScript library that sees wide use across the web despite the technology not previously receiving an update in about five years. Omg!

That’s why I’m thrilled to see jQuery UI receive some much needed love in the form of this 1.13.0-rc.2 release, which contains no breaking changes, but sort of polishes off some of its deprecated features to support wider use in modern user interfaces.

The jQuery UI team has noted that it has struggled over the years to find reliable contributors, which may explain why it has taken five years to see any updated releases. However, the team notes that they presently don’t intend to significantly expand the framework, and that it will now enter a maintenance phase to simply ensure that it is compatible with future jQuery releases, and secure.

Lit 2.0

Lit has gone through a number of changes with this most recent release which officially launched last week.

They have a new logo, a new name (having previously been called "Lit Element”), a new npm, and a ton of new features.

If you aren’t familiar with Lit, it is a library that simplifies and supercharges the process of building and implementing web components from Google.

With this new release, the Lit team has slashed the size of the library to 6KB, just a fraction of the size of your average JavaScript framework, which increases its speed and performance.

But this isn’t the only significant improvement to the technology as the Lit team has also introduced new features like a class-based API for directive authors, templating enhancements, and reactive controllers.

But what most caught my attention was the significant improvements to the Lit site and documentation. Aside from undergoing some major UI transformations, the new Lit website also features detailed documentation that includes a sandbox where users can test out Lit 2.0’s newest features in the browser!

What are you excited about lately? Make sure to share with me on twitter @ladyleet.

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