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JavaScript Basics
Nov. 3, 2014 15 min read original

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Overview
JavaScript is a rich and expressive language in its own right. This section
covers the basic concepts of JavaScript, as well as some frequent pitfalls for
people who have not used JavaScript before. While it will be of particular

value to people with no programming experience, even people who have used
other programming languages may benefit from learning about some of the
peculiarities of JavaScript.
If youre interested in learning more about the JavaScript language, I highly
recommend JavaScript: The Good Parts by Douglas Crockford.

Syntax Basics
Understanding statements, variable naming, whitespace, and other basic
JavaScript syntax.
A simple variable declaration
var foo = 'hello world';

Whitespace has no meaning outside of quotation marks

var foo =

'hello world';

Parentheses indicate precedence

2 * 3 + 5;
2 * (3 + 5);

// returns 11; multiplication happens first

// returns 16; addition happens first

Tabs enhance readability, but have no special meaning

var foo = function() {
console.log('hello');
};

Operators
Basic Operators
Basic operators allow you to manipulate values.
Concatenation
var foo = 'hello';

var bar = 'world';

console.log(foo + ' ' + bar); // 'hello world'

Multiplication and division

2 * 3;
2 / 3;

Incrementing and decrementing

var i = 1;

var j = ++i;

// pre-increment:

j equals 2; i equals 2

var k = i++;

// post-increment: k equals 2; i equals 3

Operations on Numbers & Strings

In JavaScript, numbers and strings will occasionally behave in ways you might
not expect.

Addition vs. concatenation

var foo = 1;
var bar = '2';

console.log(foo + bar);

// 12. uh oh

Forcing a string to act as a number

var foo = 1;
var bar = '2';

// coerce the string to a number

console.log(foo + Number(bar));

The Number constructor, when called as a function (like above) will have the
effect of casting its argument into a number. You could also use the unary plus
operator, which does the same thing:

Forcing a string to act as a number (using the unary-plus operator)

console.log(foo + +bar);

Logical Operators
Logical operators allow you to evaluate a series of operands using AND and OR
operations.
Logical AND and OR operators
var foo = 1;
var bar = 0;
var baz = 2;

foo || bar;

// returns 1, which is true

bar || foo;

// returns 1, which is true

foo && bar;

// returns 0, which is false

foo && baz;

// returns 2, which is true

baz && foo;

// returns 1, which is true

Though it may not be clear from the example, the || operator returns the
value of the first truthy operand, or, in cases where neither operand is truthy,
itll return the last of both operands. The && operator returns the value of the
first false operand, or the value of the last operand if both operands are truthy.
Be sure to consult the section called Truthy and Falsy Things for more
details on which values evaluate to true and which evaluate to false .

Note
Youll sometimes see developers use these logical operators for flow control
instead of using if statements. For example:
// do something with foo if foo is truthy
foo && doSomething(foo);

// set bar to baz if baz is truthy;

// otherwise, set it to the return
// value of createBar()
var bar = baz || createBar();

This style is quite elegant and pleasantly terse; that said, it can be really hard
to read, especially for beginners. I bring it up here so youll recognize it in code
you read, but I dont recommend using it until youre extremely comfortable
with what it means and how you can expect it to behave.

Comparison Operators
Comparison operators allow you to test whether values are equivalent or
whether values are identical.
Comparison operators
var foo = 1;
var bar = 0;
var baz = '1';
var bim = 2;

foo == bar;

// returns false

foo != bar;

// returns true

foo == baz;

// returns true; careful!

foo === baz;

// returns false

foo !== baz;

// returns true

foo === parseInt(baz);

// returns true

foo > bim;

// returns false

bim > baz;

// returns true

foo <= baz;

// returns true

Conditional Code
Sometimes you only want to run a block of code under certain conditions.
Flow control via if and else blocks lets you run code only under
certain conditions.
Flow control
var foo = true;
var bar = false;

if (bar) {
// this code will never run
console.log('hello!');
}
if (bar) {
// this code won't run
} else {
if (foo) {
// this code will run
} else {
// this code would run if foo and bar were both false
}
}

Note
While curly braces arent strictly required around single-line if statements,
using them consistently, even when they arent strictly required, makes for
vastly more readable code.

Be mindful not to define functions with the same name multiple times within
separate if / else blocks, as doing so may not have the expected result.

Truthy and Falsy Things

In order to use flow control successfully, its important to understand which
kinds of values are truthy and which kinds of values are falsy. Sometimes,
values that seem like they should evaluate one way actually evaluate another.
Values that evaluate to true
'0';
'any string';
[];

// an empty array

{};

// an empty object

1;

// any non-zero number

Values that evaluate to false

0;
'';

// an empty string

NaN; // JavaScript's "not-a-number" variable

null;
undefined;

// be careful -- undefined can be redefined!

Conditional Variable Assignment with The Ternary Operator

Sometimes you want to set a variable to a value depending on some condition.
You could use an if / else statement, but in many cases the ternary operator
is more convenient. [Definition: The ternary operator tests a condition; if the
condition is true, it returns a certain value, otherwise it returns a different
value.]
The ternary operator
// set foo to 1 if bar is true;
// otherwise, set foo to 0
var foo = bar ? 1 : 0;

While the ternary operator can be used without assigning the return value to a
variable, this is generally discouraged.

Switch Statements
Rather than using a series of if/else if/else blocks, sometimes it can be useful
to use a switch statement instead. [Definition: Switch statements look at the
value of a variable or expression, and run different blocks of code depending
on the value.]
A switch statement
switch (foo) {

case 'bar':
alert('the value was bar -- yay!');
break;
case 'baz':
alert('boo baz :(');
break;
default:
alert('everything else is just ok');
break;

Switch statements have somewhat fallen out of favor in JavaScript, because

often the same behavior can be accomplished by creating an object that has
more potential for reuse, testing, etc. For example:
var stuffToDo = {
'bar' : function() {
alert('the value was bar -- yay!');
},

'baz' : function() {
alert('boo baz :(');
},
'default' : function() {
alert('everything else is just ok');
}
};

if (stuffToDo[foo]) {
stuffToDo[foo]();
} else {
stuffToDo['default']();
}

Well look at objects in greater depth later in this chapter.

Loops
Loops let you run a block of code a certain number of times.
Loops
// logs 'try 0', 'try 1', ..., 'try 4'
for (var i=0; i<5; i++) {
console.log('try ' + i);
}

Note that in Loops even though we use the keyword var before the variable
name i , this does not scope the variable i to the loop block. Well discuss
scope in depth later in this chapter.

The for loop

A for loop is made up of four statements and has the following structure:
for ([initialisation]; [conditional]; [iteration])
[loopBody]

The initialisation statement is executed only once, before the loop starts. It
gives you an opportunity to prepare or declare any variables.
The conditional statement is executed before each iteration, and its return
value decides whether or not the loop is to continue. If the conditional
statement evaluates to a falsey value then the loop stops.

The iteration statement is executed at the end of each iteration and gives you
an opportunity to change the state of important variables. Typically, this will
involve incrementing or decrementing a counter and thus bringing the loop
ever closer to its end.
The loopBody statement is what runs on every iteration. It can contain
anything you want. Youll typically have multiple statements that need to be
executed and so will wrap them in a block ( {...} ).
Heres a typical for loop:
A typical for loop
for (var i = 0, limit = 100; i < limit; i++) {
// This block will be executed 100 times
console.log('Currently at ' + i);
// Note: the last log will be "Currently at 99"
}

The while loop

A while loop is similar to an if statement, except that its body will keep
executing until the condition evaluates to false.
while ([conditional]) [loopBody]

Heres a typical while loop:

A typical while loop
var i = 0;
while (i < 100) {

// This block will be executed 100 times

console.log('Currently at ' + i);
i++; // increment i

Youll notice that were having to increment the counter within the loops
body. It is possible to combine the conditional and incrementer, like so:

A while loop with a combined conditional and incrementer

var i = -1;
while (++i < 100) {
// This block will be executed 100 times
console.log('Currently at ' + i);
}

Notice that were starting at -1 and using the prefix incrementer ( ++i ).

The do-while loop

This is almost exactly the same as the while loop, except for the fact that the
loops body is executed at least once before the condition is tested.
do [loopBody] while ([conditional])

Heres a do-while loop:

A do-while loop

do {

// Even though the condition evaluates to false

// this loop's body will still execute once.
alert('Hi there!');
} while (false);

These types of loops are quite rare since only few situations require a loop that
blindly executes at least once. Regardless, its good to be aware of it.

Breaking and continuing

Usually, a loops termination will result from the conditional statement not
evaluating to true, but it is possible to stop a loop in its tracks from within the
loops body with the break statement.
Stopping a loop

for (var i = 0; i < 10; i++) {

if (something) {
break;
}
}

You may also want to continue the loop without executing more of the loops
body. This is done using the continue statement.
Skipping to the next iteration of a loop
for (var i = 0; i < 10; i++) {

if (something) {
continue;
}
// The following statement will only be executed
// if the conditional 'something' has not been met
console.log('I have been reached');

Reserved Words
JavaScript has a number of reserved words, or words that have special
meaning in the language. You should avoid using these words in your code
except when using them with their intended meaning.

abstract

boolean

break

byte

case

catch

char

class

const

continue

debugger

default

delete

do

double

else

enum

export

extends

final

finally

float

for

function

goto

if

implements

import

in

instanceof

int

interface

long

native

new

package

private

protected

public

return

short

static

super

switch

synchronized

this

throw

throws

transient

try

typeof

var

void

volatile

while

with

Arrays
Arrays are zero-indexed lists of values. They are a handy way to store a set of
related items of the same type (such as strings), though in reality, an array can
include multiple types of items, including other arrays.

A simple array
var myArray = [ 'hello', 'world' ];

Accessing array items by index

var myArray = [ 'hello', 'world', 'foo', 'bar' ];
console.log(myArray[3]);

// logs 'bar'

Testing the size of an array

var myArray = [ 'hello', 'world' ];
console.log(myArray.length);

// logs 2

Changing the value of an array item

var myArray = [ 'hello', 'world' ];
myArray[1] = 'changed';

While its possible to change the value of an array item as shown in Changing
the value of an array item, its generally not advised.
Adding elements to an array
var myArray = [ 'hello', 'world' ];
myArray.push('new');

Working with arrays

var myArray = [ 'h', 'e', 'l', 'l', 'o' ];
var myString = myArray.join('');

// 'hello'

var mySplit = myString.split('');

// [ 'h', 'e', 'l', 'l', 'o' ]

Objects
Objects contain one or more key-value pairs. The key portion can be any
string. The value portion can be any type of value: a number, a string, an array,
a function, or even another object.

[Definition: When one of these values is a function, its called a method of the
object.] Otherwise, they are called properties.
As it turns out, nearly everything in JavaScript is an object arrays,
functions, numbers, even strings and they all have properties and methods.
Creating an object literal
var myObject = {
sayHello : function() {
console.log('hello');
},
myName : 'Rebecca'
};
myObject.sayHello();

// logs 'hello'

console.log(myObject.myName);

// logs 'Rebecca'

Note

When creating object literals, you should note that the key portion of each
key-value pair can be written as any valid JavaScript identifier, a string
(wrapped in quotes) or a number:
var myObject = {
validIdentifier: 123,
'some string': 456,
99999: 789
};

Object literals can be extremely useful for code organization; for more
information, read Using Objects to Organize Your Code by Rebecca Murphey.

Functions
Functions contain blocks of code that need to be executed repeatedly.
Functions can take zero or more arguments, and can optionally return a value.
Functions can be created in a variety of ways:

Function Declaration
function foo() { /* do something */ }

Named Function Expression

var foo = function() { /* do something */ }

I prefer the named function expression method of setting a functions name, for
some rather in-depth and technical reasons. You are likely to see both methods
used in others JavaScript code.

Using Functions
A simple function
var greet = function(person, greeting) {
var text = greeting + ', ' + person;
console.log(text);
};
greet('Rebecca', 'Hello');

A function that returns a value

var greet = function(person, greeting) {
var text = greeting + ', ' + person;
return text;
};

console.log(greet('Rebecca','hello'));

A function that returns another function

var greet = function(person, greeting) {
var text = greeting + ', ' + person;
return function() { console.log(text); };
};

var greeting = greet('Rebecca', 'Hello');

greeting();

Self-Executing Anonymous Functions

A common pattern in JavaScript is the self-executing anonymous function.

This pattern creates a function expression and then immediately executes the
function. This pattern is extremely useful for cases where you want to avoid
polluting the global namespace with your code no variables declared inside
of the function are visible outside of it.
A self-executing anonymous function
(function(){
var foo = 'Hello world';
})();

console.log(foo);

// undefined!

Functions as Arguments
In JavaScript, functions are first-class citizens they can be assigned to
variables or passed to other functions as arguments. Passing functions as
arguments is an extremely common idiom in jQuery.

Passing an anonymous function as an argument

var myFn = function(fn) {
var result = fn();
console.log(result);
};

myFn(function() { return 'hello world'; });

Passing a named function as an argument

var myFn = function(fn) {
var result = fn();
console.log(result);
};

var myOtherFn = function() {

return 'hello world';
};
myFn(myOtherFn);

// logs 'hello world'

// logs 'hello world'

Testing Type
JavaScript offers a way to test the type of a variable. However, the result can
be confusing for example, the type of an Array is object.
Its common practice to use the typeof operator when trying to determining
the type of a specific value.
Testing the type of various variables
var myFunction = function() {
console.log('hello');
};

var myObject = {
foo : 'bar'
};
var myArray = [ 'a', 'b', 'c' ];
var myString = 'hello';

var myNumber = 3;
typeof myFunction;

// returns 'function'

typeof myObject;

// returns 'object'

typeof myArray;

// returns 'object' -- careful!

typeof myString;

// returns 'string';

typeof myNumber;

// returns 'number'

typeof null;

// returns 'object' -- careful!

if (myArray.push && myArray.slice && myArray.join) {

// probably an array
// (this is called "duck typing")
}
if (Object.prototype.toString.call(myArray) === '[object Array]') {
// Definitely an array!
// This is widely considered as the most robust way
// to determine if a specific value is an Array.
}

jQuery offers utility methods to help you determine the type of an arbitrary
value. These will be covered later.

The this keyword

In JavaScript, as in most object-oriented programming languages, this is a
special keyword that is used within methods to refer to the object on which a
method is being invoked. The value of this is determined using a simple
series of steps:
1. If the function is invoked using Function.call or Function.apply, this
will be set to the first argument passed to call/apply. If the first argument
passed to call/apply is null or undefined , this will refer to the global
object (which is the window object in Web browsers).
2. If the function being invoked was created using Function.bind, this will
be the first argument that was passed to bind at the time the function was
created.
3. If the function is being invoked as a method of an object, this will refer
to that object.

4. Otherwise, the function is being invoked as a standalone function not

attached to any object, and this will refer to the global object.
A function invoked using Function.call
var myObject = {
sayHello : function() {
console.log('Hi! My name is ' + this.myName);
},

myName : 'Rebecca'
};
var secondObject = {
myName : 'Colin'
};
myObject.sayHello();

// logs 'Hi! My name is Rebecca'

myObject.sayHello.call(secondObject); // logs 'Hi! My name is Colin'

A function created using Function.bind

var myName = 'the global object',

sayHello = function () {
console.log('Hi! My name is ' + this.myName);
},
myObject = {
myName : 'Rebecca'
};
var myObjectHello = sayHello.bind(myObject);
sayHello();

// logs 'Hi! My name is the global object'

myObjectHello();

// logs 'Hi! My name is Rebecca'

A function being attached to an object at runtime

var myName = 'the global object',

sayHello = function() {
console.log('Hi! My name is ' + this.myName);
},

myObject = {
myName : 'Rebecca'
},
secondObject = {
myName : 'Colin'
};
myObject.sayHello = sayHello;
secondObject.sayHello = sayHello;
sayHello();

// logs 'Hi! My name is the global object'

myObject.sayHello();

// logs 'Hi! My name is Rebecca'

secondObject.sayHello();

// logs 'Hi! My name is Colin'

Note
When invoking a function deep within a long namespace, it is often tempting
to reduce the amount of code you need to type by storing a reference to the
actual function as a single, shorter variable. It is important not to do this with

instance methods as this will cause the value of this within the function to
change, leading to incorrect code operation. For instance:
var myNamespace = {
myObject : {
sayHello : function() {
console.log('Hi! My name is ' + this.myName);
},

myName : 'Rebecca'
}
};
var hello = myNamespace.myObject.sayHello;
hello();

// logs 'Hi! My name is undefined'

You can, however, safely reduce everything up to the object on which the
method is invoked:
var myNamespace = {

myObject : {
sayHello : function() {
console.log('Hi! My name is ' + this.myName);
},

myName : 'Rebecca'
}
};
var obj = myNamespace.myObject;
obj.sayHello();

// logs 'Hi! My name is Rebecca'

Scope
Scope refers to the variables that are available to a piece of code at a given
time. A lack of understanding of scope can lead to frustrating debugging
experiences.

When a variable is declared inside of a function using the var keyword, it is

only available to code inside of that function code outside of that function
cannot access the variable. On the other hand, functions defined inside that
function will have access to to the declared variable.
Furthermore, variables that are declared inside a function without the var
keyword are not local to the function JavaScript will traverse the scope
chain all the way up to the window scope to find where the variable was
previously defined. If the variable wasnt previously defined, it will be defined
in the global scope, which can have extremely unexpected consequences;
Functions have access to variables defined in the same scope
var foo = 'hello';

var sayHello = function() {

console.log(foo);
};

sayHello();

// logs 'hello'

console.log(foo);

// also logs 'hello'

Code outside the scope in which a variable was defined does not have
access to the variable
var sayHello = function() {
var foo = 'hello';
console.log(foo);
};

sayHello();

// logs 'hello'

console.log(foo);

// doesn't log anything

Variables with the same name can exist in different scopes with different
values
var foo = 'world';

var sayHello = function() {

var foo = 'hello';
console.log(foo);
};
sayHello();

// logs 'hello'

console.log(foo);

// logs 'world'

Functions can see changes in variable values after the function is

defined
var myFunction = function() {
var foo = 'hello';

var myFn = function() {

console.log(foo);
};
foo = 'world';

return myFn;
};
var f = myFunction();
f();

// logs 'world' -- uh oh

Scope insanity
// a self-executing anonymous function
(function() {
var baz = 1;
var bim = function() { alert(baz); };
bar = function() { alert(baz); };
})();

console.log(baz);
bar();

// baz is not defined outside of the function

// bar is defined outside of the anonymous function

// because it wasn't declared with var; furthermore,
// because it was defined in the same scope as baz,

// it has access to baz even though other code

// outside of the function does not
bim();

// bim is not defined outside of the anonymous function,

// so this will result in an error

Closures
Closures are an extension of the concept of scope functions have access to
variables that were available in the scope where the function was created. If
thats confusing, dont worry: closures are generally best understood by
example.
In Functions cansee" changes in variable values after the function is
defined, we saw how functions have access to changing variable values. The
same sort of behavior exists with functions defined within loops the
function sees the change in the variables value even after the function is
defined, resulting in all clicks alerting 5.

How to lock in the value of i ?

/* this won't behave as we want it to; */
/* every click will alert 5 */
for (var i=0; i<5; i++) {
$('<p>click me</p>').appendTo('body').click(function() {
alert(i);
});
}

Locking in the value of i with a closure

/* fix: 'close' the value of i inside
createFunction, so it won't change */
var createFunction = function(i) {
return function() { alert(i); };
};

for (var i=0; i<5; i++) {

$('<p>click me</p>').appendTo('body').click(createFunction(i));
}

Closures can also be used to resolve issues with the this keyword, which is
unique to each scope:
Using a closure to access inner and outer object instances
simultaneously
var outerObj = {
myName : 'outer',
outerFunction : function () {

// provide a reference to outerObj

// through innerFunction's closure
var self = this;
var innerObj = {
myName : 'inner',
innerFunction : function () {
// logs 'outer inner'
console.log(self.myName, this.myName);
}
};

innerObj.innerFunction();
console.log(this.myName); // logs 'outer'
}
};
outerObj.outerFunction();

This mechanism can be particularly useful when dealing with callbacks,

though in those cases, it is often better to use Function.bind, which will avoid
any overhead associated with scope traversal.

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