jQuery 2.0 Released, Drops support for Internet Explorer 6, 7, and 8

A smaller and faster jQuery “intended for the modern web” hits the shelves today 19 April. jQuery 2.0 drops 12 percent in size squeezing out support for Internet Explorer 6, 7 and 8 browsers. The jQuery team will continue to support the 1.x branch which runs on Internet Explorer 6, 7 and 8. “You can (and should) continue to use jQuery 1.9 (and the upcoming 1.10) on web sites that need to accommodate older browsers”.

But with this release, jQuery users should know that there a certain environments where the jQuery team will no longer support the 1.x line because they consider the 2.x line a better choice. “These are typically non-web-site scenarios where support for older IE isn’t relevant. They include: Google Chrome add-ons, Mozilla XUL apps and Firefox extensions, Firefox OS apps, Chrome OS apps, Windows 8 Store (“Modern/Metro UI”) apps, Microsoft WebBrowser control, BlackBerry 10 WebWorks apps, PhoneGap/Cordova apps, Apple UIWebView class

To upgrade from any version that proceeds jQuery v1.9, the jQuery team recommends the use of the jQuery Migrate plugin. Its’ also advisable to go thru the jQuery 1.9 Upgrade Guide before upgrading. To download jQuery 2.0.0 final move to jQuery’s official website.