What are Operators?
Operators are special symbols that act on data. They're used to perform operations on values or variables by assigning them to a variable, comparing them, or using them in arithmetic operations.
Arithmetic Operators:
Arithmetic operators are used to perform arithmetic on values (either literal or variables).
+
addition
-
subtraction
*
multiplication
**
exponentiation
/
division
%
modulus aka remainder
++
increment
--
decrement
Examples of arithmetic operators being used:
1 + 1 = 2
2 - 1 = 1
2 * 2 = 4
3 ** 2 = 9
4 / 2 = 2
5 % 2 = 1
5++ = 6
5-- = 4
Assignment Operators:
Assignment operators assign a value to a variable.
Examples of assignment operators being used:
x = 2
x += 2 // reassigns x to whatever it was + 2
x -= 2 // reassigns x to whatever it was - 2
x *= 2
x /= 2
x %= 2
x **= 2
Comparison Operators:
Comparison operators compare two values to determine equality or difference and evaluate to a boolean aka true or false.
==
loosely equal to
===
strictly equal to
!=
loosely not equal to
!==
strictly not equal to
The difference between loosely equal / not equal & strictly equal to:
Loosely checks if just value are equal.
Strictly checks if both the value and data type are equal.
Helpful Tip: Don't use non-strict comparison unless there's a good reason to which is almost never!
>
greater than
<
less than
>=
greater than or equal to
<=
less than or equal to
Examples of comparison operators being used:
x = 5
y = 10
x == 5 // returns true
x == '5' // returns true
x === 5 // returns true
x === '5' // returns false
y != 10 // returns false
y != '10' // returns false
y !== 10 // returns false
y !== '10' // returns true
x > 10 // returns false
x < 10 // returns true
y >= 10 // returns true
y <= 10 // returns true
Logical Operators:
Logical operators compare two variables or values and determine the logic whether it's true or false
&&
and
||
or
!
not
Examples of logical operators being used:
x = 2
y = 6
// if all inequalities are true it returns true
x < y && y > 8
// if at least one of the inequalities are true it returns true
x > y || y < 4
// logical opposite
!x === 3
Ternary Operators:
The only operator that takes 3 operands: a condition followed by a ?
then an expression to execute if the condition is truthy followed by a :
and then the expression to execute if the condition is falsy. The ternary operator is an alternative to using an if else statement.
let number = 99;
let lessThan100 = number < 100 ? "Less than 100!" : "Sorry your number is not under 100."
console.log(lessThan100); // "Less than 100!"
Conclusion:
Operators are important tools in JavaScript for performing various operations on data. Each type of operator serves a specific purpose. Understanding how to use operators can help write more efficient and readable code.
Happy coding! :)
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