[Just JavaScript] 03. Values and Variables

[allenGKC]

03. Values and Variables

First look at this code:

let reaction = 'yikes';
reaction[0] = 'l';
console.log(reaction);

What is this code's output?

Here’s the answer. This code will either print "yikes" or throw an error depending on whether you are in strict mode. It will never print "likes".

Primitive Values Are Immutable

let arr = [212, 8, 506];
let str = 'hello';

console.log(arr[0]); // 212
console.log(str[0]); // "h"

arr[0] = 420;
console.log(arr); // [420, 8, 506]

str[0] = 'j'; // ???

All primitive values are immutable.

If you attempt to set a property on a primitive value, be it a number or a string or something else, JavaScript won’t let you do that. Whether it will silently refuse your request or error depends on which mode your code is running in.

A Contradiction?

Then look at this code:

let pet = 'Narwhal';
pet = 'The Kraken';
console.log(pet); // ?

What is this code's output?

The answer is "The Kraken". It may seem to be confusing.

Variables Are Wires

We only said it’s the primitive values that can’t change. We didn’t say anything about variables!

Variables are not values. Variables point to values.

A variable is a wire. It has two ends and a direction: it starts from a name in my code and it ends pointing at some value in my universe.

let pet = 'Narwhal';

There are two things I can do to a variable after that.

Assigning a Value to a Variable

pet = 'The Kraken';

Note that I can’t just put anything on the left side:

'war' = 'peace'; // Nope. (Try it in the console.)

The left side of an assignment must be a “wire”.

The right side of an assignment must be an expression.

Reading a Value of a Variable

Read the value of variable — for example, to log it:

console.log(pet);

But note that it is not the pet variable that we pass to console.log. We might say that colloquially, but we can’t really pass variables to functions. We pass the current value of the pet variable.

It turns out that a variable name like pet can serve as an expression too! When we write pet, we’re asking JavaScript a question: “What is the current value of pet?” To answer our question, JavaScript follows the pet’s “wire”, and gives us back the value at the end of this “wire”.

Nouns and Verbs

function double(x) {
  x = x * 2;
}

let money = 10;
double(money);
console.log(money); // ?

The answer is 10.

Putting It Together

let x = 10;
let y = x;
x = 0;

Variables always point at values.

Recap

• Primitive values are immutable. There’s nothing we can do in our code to affect them or change them in any way. They stay what they are. For example, we can’t set a property on a string value because it is a primitive value. Arrays are not primitive, so we can set their properties.
• Variables are not values. Each variable points to a particular value. We can change which value it points to by using the = assignment operator.
• Variables are like wires. A “wire” is not a JavaScript concept — but it helps us imagine how variables point to values. There’s also a different kind of “wire” that’s not a variable, but we haven’t discussed it yet.
• Look out for contradictions. If two things that you learned seem to contradict each other, don’t get discouraged. Usually, it’s a sign that there’s a deeper truth lurking underneath.
• Nouns and verbs matter. We’re building a mental model so that we can be confident in what can or cannot happen in our universe. It’s fine to be sloppy in casual speech, but our thinking needs to be precise.