jQuery have lot of functionalities but some of the key features are given below :

Selection of DOM elements :

The jQuery selector provide us capability to select DOM elements so that we can add functionality to them using methods of jQuery. It is using CSS 3.0 syntax which provide us freedom to select one or more elements. Using CSS , you can select element by id, class and collaborate with events to increase it’s functionality.

The wrapped set

The selected elements reside inside a object known as wrapped set. It contain all the selected DOM elements, it has array like structure. You can traverse through this like an array and can select elements using index.

Events

jQuery provide simplified event handling, You can easily bind and unbind events and for supported browsers it also provide a normalized event model due to this it is very easy to handle events.When any event occurs , it is called under the context of the event that triggered it.

Extensibility through plug-ins

The jQuery architecture provide us freedom to extend functionality using plug-ins . The plug-ins are easy to use and easy to clip with your page. You just need to set parameters to use these jQuery plug-ins and also need to include plug-in file. Some the main jQuery plug-ins are :

1.XML and XSLT tools

2.cookie handling

3.datagrids

4.drag and drop events.

5.modal windows

6.dynamic lists

7.webservices

8.Ajax helpers

9.even a jQuery-based Commodore 64 emulator.

Cross-browser support

In JavaScript, the DOM implementations for event handling vary considerably between browsers. Where as jQuery providing a normalized event model for all supported browsers that makes it very easy to handle events.

Ajax support

AJAX stands for Asynchronous JavaScript and XML . Using AJAX we can connect to database and also can fetch the data from the server’s database without refreshing the page. JQuery have very effective AJAX methods library to extend the functionality of AJAX.

Compatibility with languages

The jQuery script can be used with nearly all the web languages. Some of Frequently used languages with jQuery are given below:

1.PHP

2.JSP

3.ASP

4.Servlet

5.CGI