jQuery :first vs. .first()

Question

The .first() method was added in jQuery 1.4.

The :first selector has been around since 1.0.

From the docs:

:first

Answer 1

If .first() and :first are used in the same context to get the same information, example:

Html:

  
One
  
Two
  
Three
  
Four
  
Five

Script:

console.log("1", $('ul li').first().text());
console.log("2", $('ul li:first').text());

.first() is more performant

**

As mentionned by Andrew Moore, .first() is the equivalent of .eq(0).
According to jsperf.com, .eq(0) would be the best, but there is no big difference with .first().

You can see my source, here: http://jsperf.com/first-vs-first-vs-eq-0