There are two types of components found within the jQuery UI library—low-level interaction helpers that are designed to work primarily with mouse events, and there are the widgets that produce visible objects on the page, which are designed to perform a specific function.

The interaction helpers category includes the following components:

The higher-level widgets included (at the time of writing) are as follows:

The ui.core.js file that is required by all other library components, comes under neither category, but could nevertheless be seen as the core component of the library. This file sets up the construct that all widgets use to function and adds some core functionality which is shared by all of the library components. This file isn't designed to be used standalone, and exposes no functionality that can be used outside of another component.

Apart from these components, there is also a series of UI effects that produce different animations or transitions on targeted elements on the page. These are excellent for adding flair and style to our pages, in addition to the strong functionality of the components. We'll be looking at these effects in the final chapter of the book.

I'd like to add here that the jQuery UI library is currently undergoing a rapid period of expansion and development. It is also constantly growing and evolving with bug fixes and feature enhancements continually being added. It would be impossible to keep entirely up-to-date with this aggressive expansion and cover components that are literally about to be released.

The great thing about jQuery UI's simplified API is that once you have learned to use all of the existing components (as this book will show you), you'll be able to pick up any new components very quickly. As this book is being written, there are already a number of new components nearing release, with many more in the pipeline and all of these components will automatically be ThemeRoller-ready.