What’s great about both of these libraries is the ease of use that they both have. They both give you a relatively small file, that makes all of your projects much faster. Rather than have to install multiple different javascript files for one page, all that I have to do is make a add one line of code to import the whole library. What’s even better is that I don’t even have to host the files myself. Google hosts JQuery and JQuery UI, while JQueryTools.org host JQuery tools. That means that I don’t have to expend bandwidth, and load times will be much faster.

The obvious advantage of JQuery UI is that it’s been around longer. It’s got more support and virtually no bugs. UI has many great feature such as the Datepicker. Which would be useful of contact forms (whereas previously using MooTools I had to load a whole new javascript file). It’s also got a few fun little effects which serve very little purpose, to me at least, but look cool. It comes with customizable themes, where you can create your own or use one of the many default themes it has. It really makes the whole experience feel like a desktop application over the traditional static web page.

JQuery Tools does plays more of an enhancement role in user interface. Rather than attempt to change the way the web works, Tools tries to simplify it. Tools comes with a myriad of simplifications to normal JQuery, as demonstrated on the demo area of it’s site. Some of the more useful of these to me would be the overlay, the scrollbar, tabs, and the flashembed. It’s easy to see why this new library has been getting so much attention since it’s release.

In conclusion, for my next project it looks like I’ll try out JQuery Tools. Tools has may of the design enhancements that could be useful in this project, whereas UI would be better suited being used in a larger, more structured website.