JavaScript : Variables and Constants (A beginner's Perspective)

In this article, I've attempted to do a complete breakdown on the concepts of variables and constants as I've learned about them. I hope it helps!

Quick Disclaimer! I am also a beginner trying to navigate my way through programming and writing on the knowledge I gain is my way of learning. So bear with me if I'm not completely accurate or clear.

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Variables

Variables are like containers for storing values. They are very important in how easily information is stored and passed in our program as we'll find out in progression.

Declaring Variable

Keywords: Variables are declared using three keywords in javascript. Declaring is you giving JavaScript an order to create a variable. These keywords include var, let, const.
An example,
First declare a variable

var firstName;
let firstName;

Then you assign(store) a value to it

firstName = 3;

Then you can refactor your code which is declaring a variable and assigning a value to it in the same line of code. This is called Explicit initialization. This is the only way to declare const variables.

var firstName = 3;

let firstName = 3;

const firstName = 3;

Redeclaration

Although it only applies to the var keyword, you can redeclare variable using the var keyword.

var firstName = "my name";
var firstName = "your name";

Reassignment

You can change the value assigned to your variable by assigning a new value to the variable. It applies to varand let keywords.

var firstName = 3;
firstName = 5;
console.log(firstName); // 5

You cannot reassign a new value to a constant variable.

const firstName = "My Name";
firstName = "Your Name"; //Uncaught TypeError: Assignment to constant variable.

But there is a little twist to this rule, so when constant variables are assigned to object data types(i.e name:value pairs), the variable assignment(values) are references containing the object values. Let's take a look at this illustration for clearer understanding

const objectName = { a : 5};

{ a : 5} - The curly braces represents the whole object as a reference to the variable objectName. Now,the reference can cannot be changed in respect to the variable but the object value can be changed.

const objectName = { a : 5};

//Attempting to reassign a new value to the variable reference
objectName = { a : 3}; //Uncaught TypeError: Assignment to constant variable.

But we can reassign a new value to the object reference.

objectName.a = 3;
console.log(objectName); // { a : 3}

Scopes

This process of declaring variables using the var keyword also works with the let keyword. But it is recommended to use let rather than var because let allows you declare variables that are limited to a Block scope, unlike var which declares a variable globally to an entire function, regardless of the block scope.

For better understanding, let's get a clear picture of what these scopes mean.

Scope tells us which variable is accessible and unto what point it is accessible. We can identify scopes by curly braces {}. Let's look at the different scopes we have in javascript.

Global Scope: This is your entire javascript code file and all other scopes, functions and variables are contained in the global scopes.

Local Scope: These are variables declared in the functions and are further classed into function scopes and block scopes.

• Function Scope: These are variables declared inside a function and they can only be accessed within the function.

• Block scope:These variables are only accessible within the particular loop or conditional statements they are declared in.

To illustrate these concepts, let's create the following program
(constvariables are equally block-scoped, so we'll be using only varand let keywords for easier understanding):

function x() {
If (true) {
var a = 1;
let b = 2;
console.log (a);// 1
console.log(b);//2
         }
}
x();

Both declarations are executed because they are within a block scope. Now let's see what happens when we declare a variable within a block scope and print outside the block scope.

function x() {
if (true) {
var a = 1;
let b = 2;
}
console.log(a); // 1
console.log(b); // Uncaught ReferenceError: b is not defined
}
x();

Here we can see that the variable declared with the let keyword is not recognised outside the block scope of the if statement. var functions regardless of what scope it has been declared in. Let's take a look at how this can be a disadvantage.

function x() {
var a = "a"; // very important variable
let b = "b";
 if(true) {
var a = 1;
let b = 2;
}
console.log(a); // 1
console.log(b); // b
}
x();

The result we get here is b -> b because that is the value of b in the function scope (the variable b in the block scope has been terminated within the scope).

we get a -> 1 being our output for var keyword because var is not dependent on the scope it is declared in and therefore it will override an existing variable(our important variable) and print out the most recent variable declared using var keyword. This can cause bugs in our code hence, it is safer to use the let keyword which is terminated within it's scope.

Hoisting

Hoisting is a concept where variables and function declarations are moved to the top of their scope before the execution of the code. while var can be hoisted to the top before declaration, letand constcannot because only the varkeyword is initialized as undefined.

console.log(firstName);
var firstname = "my name";

Quick summary

Incase the differences weren't clear enough, here's a summary

1. var and let both can be declared without initializing while const must be declared and assigned a value on the same line of code.

2. var and let variables can be reassigned to new values while you cannot reassign new references for const variables.

3. var can be redeclared while both let and const cannot be redeclared.

4. let and const are block-scoped while var is global-scoped and function-scoped when declared in a function.

5. var can be hoisted to the top of the code block, let and const cannot.

You can check out these resources for further and in-depth understanding of these concepts.
https://medium.com/nerd-for-tech/function-scope-block-scope-in-js-d29c8e7cd216
https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/var-let-and-const-whats-the-difference/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNh2JCiFXIg

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Thank you so much for reading❤. Comments, questions and contributions are welcome.

I hope this article breaks down the concepts of defining variables in a clear, concise manner.
Also, please I need help with embedding resources! Please somebody, help!🤧