Using jQuery allows for chaining, CSS selectors and a simple function call. Simply getting the width/height of an element in JavaScript is very hairy, especial

Using jQuery allows for chaining, CSS selectors and a simple function call. Simply getting the width/height of an element in JavaScript is very hairy, especially when you want a cross browser solution. I agree this jQuery thing a little redundant, but the simple fact it's the defacto, it fixes cross compatibility issues and it's easy to write stuff in.