Chapter 11. jQuery UI widgets: Beyond HTML controls

 

This chapter covers

  • Extending the set of HTML controls with jQuery UI widgets
  • Augmenting HTML buttons
  • Using slider and datepicker controls for numeric and date input
  • Showing progress visually
  • Simplifying long lists with autocompleters
  • Organizing content with tabs and accordions
  • Creating dialog boxes

Since the dawn of the web, developers have been constrained by the limited set of controls afforded by HTML. Although that set of controls runs the gamut from simple text entry through complex file selection, the variety of provided controls pales in comparison to those available to desktop application developers. HTML 5 promises to expand this set of controls, but it may be some time before support appears in all major browsers.

For example, how often have you heard the HTML <select> element referred to as a “combo box,” a desktop control to which it bears only a passing resem blance? The real combo box is a very useful control that appears often in desktop applications, yet web developers have been denied its advantages.

11.1. Buttons and buttonsets

11.2. Sliders

11.3. Progress bars

11.4. Autocompleters