jQuery UI (User Interface) is an extension of the jQuery library aimed at simplifying the development of interactive and appealing user interfaces for web applications. It provides a collection of user-friendly widgets, effects, and interactions based on JavaScript and CSS.

Key features of jQuery UI include:

1. Widgets: jQuery UI contains various pre-built UI elements or widgets such as dialogs, buttons, progress bars, tabs, sliders, calendars, and more. These widgets are highly customizable and can be easily integrated into web pages.

2. Interactions: It offers functionality for implementing drag-and-drop features, sorting capabilities, resizing elements, and other interactive capabilities to enhance user experience.

3. Effects: Similar to jQuery, jQuery UI provides various effects and animations that can be applied to add, modify, or animate elements on the web page.

4. Theming: jQuery UI provides the ability to change or customize the appearance of widgets through theming. This means developers can adapt the look of the widgets to match the design of their website.

jQuery UI was developed to facilitate the creation of consistent and user-friendly user interfaces. It works closely with the jQuery library, extending its functionality with specific UI elements and interactions. However, with the advancement of CSS3 and the evolution of modern browsers, the use of pure CSS techniques or other UI development frameworks has increased in some cases compared to utilizing jQuery UI. Nevertheless, jQuery UI remains a relevant option for developers working on jQuery-based projects to create engaging user interfaces.

jQuery is a JavaScript library designed to simplify working with JavaScript in web applications. It is a powerful and lightweight library that provides a variety of useful functions and abstractions to ease common tasks in web development.

The main goals of jQuery are:

1. DOM Manipulation: jQuery makes it easier to manipulate and traverse the Document Object Model (DOM) of HTML documents. Developers can select elements, modify content, add or remove elements, and handle events in a straightforward manner without dealing directly with the complex DOM APIs.

2. Event Handling: jQuery provides a user-friendly interface for binding event handlers to HTML elements, allowing developers to respond to user actions such as clicks, keyboard events, and mouse movements.

3. Animation: With jQuery, developers can create animations and transition effects to animate elements on a webpage in an engaging way.

4. AJAX Support: jQuery simplifies the use of AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) and enables developers to perform asynchronous server requests to load data from a server and dynamically update content without page reloading.

5. Cross-Browser Compatibility: jQuery is designed to offer consistent functionality across different web browsers by abstracting away browser-specific differences.

The syntax of jQuery is simple and clear, improving code readability and expediting development. To use jQuery, developers need to include the jQuery library in their HTML pages and can then utilize jQuery functions to create interactive and dynamic web pages.

It's important to note that with the prevalence of modern JavaScript and browser APIs, some of jQuery's features are no longer as essential as they were in the past. Nevertheless, jQuery remains a popular choice due to its user-friendliness and extensive features, particularly in existing projects and among developers who need to maintain compatibility with older browsers.