JavaScript Basics

This page teaches you the basics of JavaScript, for beginners, in 30 minutes.

This tutorial teachs the ES2015 version of JavaScript.

ES2015 is a new JavaScript spec released in 2015, and is supported by all browsers now. It adds significant features to the language.

Running JavaScript

How to Run JavaScript

Comment

All lines beginning with 2 slashs // are ignored.

And any text between /* and */ are ignored.

// this is single line comment

/* this is
multi-line
comment. */

Printing

To print, use alert or console.log.

alert("hello");
// bring up a pop-up dialog

console.log("hello");
// print to browser's console

To see the output of console.log, open your browser's JavaScript console.

[see How to Use Browser Console]

Semicolon can be omitted most of the time. When to insert semicolon is complex. For now, just follow examples in this tutorial. For detail, see Semicolon Rules.

String

Quoting String

Use double quote or single quote for string. There's basically no difference between the two.

let s1 = "Mary's cat";  // double quote
let s2 = 'Mary\'s cat'; // single quote, with escape

Use \n for newline.

// use \n for newline
let ss = "cat\ndog";

console.log(ss); // prints 2 lines

Literal newline in string is not allowed. Use backslash to continue a line.

// illegal syntax. Literal newline is not allowed
let s = "a
b";

// use backslash to continue a line
let s = "c\
d";

console.log(s); // prints cd

Template String

String can also be created by bracketing text with `. This this called template string. This way, JavaScript expression can be embedded in the string.

console.log(
 `two plus three is ${2+3}`
); // two plus three is 5

See Template String

String length

"abc".length; // 3

Note: no parenthesis after “length”.

Substring

console.log( "01234".slice(1,3) === "12"); // true

Index starts at 0.

[see String.prototype.slice]

Join String

String join. Use the plus operator +.

console.log( "tiger" + "rabbit"); // tigerrabbit

String Methods

There are many string functions. For a full list, see: String.prototype . For detail about string, see String Overview

Arithmetic

Basic arithmetic.

3 + 4; // 7
3 - 4; // -1

// negation
-(3+4); // -7

// multiply, divide
3 * 4; // 12
3 / 4; // 0.75

// remainder (mod)
10 % 3; // 1

// power
2**3 // 8

// square root
console.log(Math.sqrt(4) === 2); // true

// cube root
console.log(Math.cbrt(8) === 2); // true

// 4th root
console.log(Math.pow(16, 1 / 4) === 2); // true

[see Math]

Assignment

Assignment lets you store a value to a variable.

let z = 5; // 5
console.log( z ); // 5

Assignment returns a value.

// assignment returns a value
let z;
console.log( z = 2 ); // 2

JavaScript also supports x++ and others.

[see Operators]

Number

JavaScript doesn't have int/float distinction. They are just type “number”. It's similar to other language's “float”.

console.log(typeof 3 === "number");
console.log(typeof 3.2 === "number");
// true

Convert Decimal to Integer

Use one of

• Math.ceil()
• Math.floor()
• Math.round()

to convert a number to integer.

let x = 3.5847;

let f = Math.floor( x );
let c = Math.ceil( x );

console.log(f); // prints 3
console.log(c); // prints 4

console.log(Math.round( 3.54 )); // prints 4
console.log(Math.round( 3.55 )); // prints 4

[see Math]

String/Number Conversion

Convert String/Number

Variables

The following are ways to declare and or assign variable.

// declare variable
let x;

// declare multiple variables
let a, b, c;

// declare variable and assign
let x = 4;

// declare variable and assign multiple variables
let a = 1, b = 2, c = 3;

// declare multiple variables, some with value
let a, b = 2, c;

[see let Declaration]

Besides let, there's also const and var. They all have the same syntax.

const is like let, except that it must be assigned a value, and once assigned, it cannot be changed.

[see const Declaration]

var is like let, but has complex scoping rules and has name hoisting. var is deprecated in JS2015. You should never use it.

[see var Declaration]

Data Types

Every JavaScript value has a type.

JavaScript value types are:

• undefined
• null
• true, false (these are boolean type.)
• string
• number (including NaN and Infinity)
• symbol
• object. (this includes array, function, regex, ….)

[see Value Types]

True and False

true and false are builtin boolean data types.

Zero, empty string, undefined, null, NaN, eval to false in a “if” statement. Everything else eval to true.

[see true, false]

Logic Operators

// The “and” operator
true && true //  true

// The “or” operator
true || true //  true

// The “negation” operator
!true // false

Comparison Operators

3 < 4;         // true
3 > 4;         //  false

3 == 3;        // true.
3 == "3";      // true.  note: 「==」 does automatic type conversion
3 === "3";     // false.  True if both sides are same type and equal

3 != 4;        // true. The 「!=」 is the negation of 「==」
3 !== 4;       // true. The 「!==」 is the negation of 「===」

If Then Else

Simple “if” statement.

if (3 < 4) {console.log("yes");}

“if else” statement.

if (3 <= 4) {console.log("yes");}
else {console.log("no");}

“else if” chain.

let x = 3;
if (x == 1) {console.log("is 1");}
else if (x == 2) {console.log("is 2");}
else if (x == 3) {console.log("is 3");}
else {console.log("not found");}

[see Branch Control: if then else, switch]

Iteration; Loop

The most useful loop syntax is “for” loop.

for (let i=0; i < 9; i++) { console.log(i); }

[see for while do Loop]

Array

Array Basics

Define Function

Example of defining a function:

function ff(x, y) { return x + y;}
console.log(ff(3, 4)); // 7

Another example using “arrow function” syntax:

const addOne = ((x) => (x+1));

console.log( addOne(3) === 4 ); // true

For detail, see Define Function

JavaScript Object

Object Basics