Why does jQuery UI use CSS classes instead of pseudo-classes?

Question

As explained for example here, jQuery UI defines CSS classes like .ui-state-active (which are applied through JS), instead of using the existing CSS pseudo-classes, e.g. :active. Why?

Possibly because :active is not fully supported in older versions of IE - remember that jQuery's primary purpose is to bridge compatibility problems. — Niet the Dark Absol
– Niet the Dark Absol, Commented Mar 17, 2014 at 10:52

prady00 · Accepted Answer · 2014-03-17 10:56:46Z

1

I stumbled upon this recently, I found:

:active is mostly used for and implemented by different browsers for

<a> and <button>.

jQuery UI defines classes like .ui-state-active so that it can be easily applied to:

<ul>, <span>, <li>, <div>

As most of the jQuery UI elements are build up of these.

https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/:active

answered Mar 17, 2014 at 10:56

prady00

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Denis Tsoi · Accepted Answer · 2014-03-17 10:56:14Z

1

Like Niet the Dark Absol said, the added class allows support for non HTML5 browsers like IE8 and below

http://api.jquery.com/category/version/1.7/

Better Support for HTML5 in IE6/7/8

According to can I use.com, iOS Safari and android doesn't support pseudo selectors either - So the added class allows browser compatibility for those devices

http://caniuse.com/#search=pseudo

answered Mar 17, 2014 at 10:56

Denis Tsoi

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