JQuery newbie: I don't know what the "function()" of the code means

JavaScript
1

Hi guys,
I’m a newbie to JQuery. I don’t understand the following part of the JQuery syntax in red:

$(‘button’).click(function() {
$(this).fadeOut('slow);
});

Why is it

click(function() {
});

and not just .click({
});

? I don’t understand the “function” text. Thank you.

2

In javascript you can pass a function as a parameter like this so that the code within is executed later.

3

That part in red is actually ordinary JavaScript syntax. It’s a function expression. jQuery’s click method takes a callback – that is, a function – to execute when the click event occurs.

If we were to write it out more verbosely…

var buttonClickHandler = function () {
    $(this).fadeOut('slow');
};

$('button').click(buttonClickHandler);
4

jQuery is just a library of pre-written JavaScript functions so you really need to know at least the basics of JavaScript in order to be able to use jQuery.