An Hour of JavaScript

Terms defined: arrow notation, asynchronous operation, dotted notation, promise, string interpolation, truthiness

JavaScript is the only language that I'm aware of that people feel they don't need to learn before they start using it.

— Douglas Crockford

• Install deno for command-line JavaScript

Variables, Types, and Control Flow

console.log('hello, world');

• Run program as deno run program.js
• console is a built-in module
• Use the same dotted notation as Python
• Trailing semi-colon is no longer required but commonly used

const values = [0, 1, '', 'text', undefined, null, [], [2, 3]];
for (const val of values) {
    const type = typeof val;
    if (val) {
        console.log(`val '${val}' of type ${type} seems true`);
    } else {
        console.log(`val '${val}' of type ${type} seems false`);
    }
}

• const defines a constant
  • The array contents aren't constant: the reference is
• for…in iterates over the indices of an array
  • Not recommended for arrays, and can also include inherited properties
• Use for…of to iterate directly over the values of an array.
• To loop over both the indices and values of an array, use forEach or entries() with for…of
• Parentheses are required
• typeof is an operator not a function, and returns a string
• if / else if / else work as expected
• Use back-quotes and ${…} for string interpolation
• JavaScript considers an empty array to be truthy
• Always use === (triple equals) and !== for equality
• Otherwise JavaScript does some strange type conversions

Objects

const person = {
    'staff_id': 31,
    'personal': 'Loan',
    'family': 'Nguyen'
};
console.log(`personal: ${person.personal}`);
console.log(`family: ${person['family']}`);

• JavaScript objects are (kind of) like Python dictionaries
• Create so many of these that keys don't have to be quoted

const person = {
    staff_id: 31,
    personal: 'Loan',
    family: 'Nguyen'
};
console.log(`personal: ${person.personal}`);

• Can use variables' names and values to construct objects

const staff_id = 31;
const personal = 'Loan';
const family = 'Nguyen';
const person = {staff_id, personal, family};
console.log(`person: ${JSON.stringify(person)}`);

• JSON is another built-in module
• Its stringify function does what its name suggests
• Without this, person is displayed as [Object object]

Functions

function limits (values) {
  if (!values.length) {
    return [undefined, undefined];
  }
  let low = values[0];
  let high = values[0];
  for (let v of values) {
    if (v < low) {
        low = v;
    }
    if (v > high) {
        high = v;
    }
  }
  return [low, high]
}

const result = limits([1, -3, 2, 7]);
console.log(result);

• let introduces a variable
• The older var is still sometimes used
• Functions take parameters, create a scope, etc.

const largest = (left, right) => {
    if (left < right) {
        return left;
    } else {
        return right;
    }
}

console.log(`largest(3, 5) is ${largest(3, 5)}`);

• A function is just another kind of object
• Can define using arrow notation and then assign to a variable
• Handy in a language that uses lots of little functions

const values = [1, -3, 5, -7];

const is_positive = values.map(v => v >= 0);
console.log(`is_positive: ${is_positive}`);

const keep_positive = values.filter(v => v >= 0);
console.log(`keep_positive: ${keep_positive}`);

const print_positive = values.forEach(v => {
    if (v >= 0) {
        console.log(v);
    }
});

Asynchronous Operations

const middle = Deno.readTextFile('middle.txt');
console.log(`middle is ${middle}`);
middle.then(value => {
    console.log(`middle.then is ${value}`);
});

• A promise represents a delayed operation
• Use .then method to tell JavaScript what to do when a value becomes available
  • Use this a lot in web programming so that the browser won't freeze up

const value = await Deno.readTextFile('left.txt');
console.log(`left value is ${value}`);

• await makes asynchronous operations more readable