What it takes to build a solid jQuery plugin.
Marc J. Grabanski
Why is it popular?
- Easily themable
- Cross browser
- Tons of customization options (30+)
- Internationalization (10+ languages)
- Community suggestions and feedback are taken seriously
- Well documented code
- Keyboard Accessible
How was it Built?
Started with Clean Calendar.
- Extremely fast
- Easy to add to your application
- Standalone - using no JavaScript libraries
Demo:
Add a class to text inputs, "calendarSelectDate". Add a div to your document with id, "calendarDiv".
Why use a JavaScript library?
I was unsure of libraries, were they worth it?
- John Resig's presentation at Yahoo convinced me to try.
- Tried out jQuery by rewriting Clean Calendar.
- jQuery reduced code by 30-40%
- Made code easier to read and extend.
- My feeling after the rewrite was, "Please, please don't make me DOM script again, let me code it in jQuery in 5 minutes!"
Inline Datepicker
Inline:
Powerful Customization
Going Crazy with Options:
The Future of jQuery Datepicker
- More Internationalization Features
- Full ARIA complience
- More themes
- World Datepicker Domination - God Willing
Rules for Plugin Success
Important rules to make your plugin successful:
- Test in IE6+, Firefox, Opera and Safari
- Open communication, respond promptly
- Fix all bugs
- Demo different configurations
- Take feature requests seriously
- Document everything
- Stick with it