$
is just a shortcut for jQuery
. The idea is that everything is done with the one global symbol (since the global namespaces is ridiculously crowded), jQuery
, but you can use $
(because it’s shorter) if you like:
// These are the same barring your using noConflict (more below)
var divs = $("div"); // Find all divs
var divs = jQuery("div"); // Also find all divs, because
console.log($ === jQuery); // "true"
If you don’t want to use the alias, you don’t have to. And if you want $
to not be an alias for jQuery
, you can use noConflict
and the library will restore $
to whatever it was before jQuery took it over. (Useful if you also use Prototype or MooTools.)