Why doesn't jQuery use $, and how can I get it do so (GLOBALLY)?

Question

I have a WordPress theme that includes jQuery, but for some reason the "$" doesn't let me call jQuery. I know I can wrap jQuery calls in an anonymous function, but I have other plugins that rely on the $ working, and I don't want to modify their code.

So I need a way to make "$" work for jQuery, globally, across all JS in my site.

My theme adds jQuery with this (in functions.php):

function ss_scripts() {
    wp_enqueue_script('jquery');
    wp_enqueue_script('jquery-ui-core');
    wp_enqueue_style( 'ss-style', get_stylesheet_uri() );
}
add_action( 'wp_enqueue_scripts', 'ss_scripts' );

So two questions:

1. Why doesn't jQuery default to the "$" when the script is added this way?
2. How can I make the $ use jQuery, globally, across my entire site?

Answer 1

Why doesn't jQuery default to the "$" when the script is added this way?

The $ alias has been chosen by several different libraries an alias. This causes conflict if you try to use more than one library. It is a bit ridiculous, actually-- like several major corporations all deciding to use the same phone number.

How can I make the $ use jQuery, globally, across my entire site?

WordPress load jQuery in noConflict mode to avoid the problems caused by the above foolish aliasing. You should not reintroduce those issues.

Answer 2

To use $ as the object reference, you need to do this after jQuery is included and before any other script that uses $:

var $ = jQuery.noConflict();

Use at your own risk, may conflict with other code.

Technically, any jQuery plugin that relies on $ is written incorrectly.

Answer 3

Instead of $ use 'jQuery'. I am not sure about your WordPress version. For the updates with jQuery. 1. 9. It's better to use jQuery instead of $.