jQuery 2.0, the newest version of the popular JavaScript library, will feature built-in support for Windows Store applications. News of the support comes only a short time after the project announced dropped support for Internet Explorer 6, 7, and 8.
Microsoft Open Technologies, the company’s wholly owned open-source-focused subsidiary, has been working directly with the JavaScript experts at appendTo to ensure that the next version of jQuery 2.0 will feature everything needed to work with Microsoft supported apps.
While jQuery is a standard programming language that could obviously be used for apps sold in the Windows Store, the cooperation from Microsoft ensures a better user experience. Microsoft’s help has allegedly made the apps more streamlined and safer.
In an announcement posted on Friday appendTo’s director of support Jonathan Sampson wrote that jQuery always met the language criteria for Windows Store applications. Sampson then added:
“Windows 8 exposes all the WinRT APIs within the HTML5 development environment, which comes with a new security model that made some code and common practices of jQuery flagged as unsafe in the context of a Windows Store application. AppendTo reviewed and re-authored portions of jQuery core to bring it into alignment with the Windows security model, as well as identified key areas where alternative patterns would need to be substituted for actually-used conventions.”
Many developers were already using other open-source JavaScript frameworks for Windows Store app creations, frameworks that include backbone.js, Knockout.JS and YUI.
Deve Methvin, president of the jQuery Foundation said in a prepared statement:
“The jQuery team is excited about the new environments where jQuery 2.0 can be used. HTML and JavaScript developers want to take their jQuery knowledge with them to streamline the development process wherever they work. jQuery 2.0 gives them the ability to do that in Windows 8 Store applications. We appreciate the help from appendTo for both its patches and testing of jQuery 2.0 and MS Open Tech for its technical support.”
