James Jackson - JavaScript: Learn Basics of Scripting Language and Use in Programming Easily

The first thing you should know in JavaScript is Syntax. Syntax is a set of rules that governs the writing and interpreting of any program written in JavaScript.

The Basics of Syntax

If you are absolutely new to the world of Programming, then you should know that every programming language is comprised of sets of specific rules. These rules are followed in order to create a structured blueprint which the computer recognizes and then executes. When we talk about a computer program, in the simplest terms, we are referring a list of instructions which tells the computer what to do and what to execute.

These instructions are given through the various rules, which are called Syntax . In short, Syntax is the set of rules that defines Fixed Values and Variable Values.

Imagine that you are in a new class in college and the instructor comes in and writes the following message on the board: 21 read 14 6 to problems to 35 do pages and. Youre going to be very confused. Even though you recognize the words, you dont know what to do with them because they arent in an order or format that you recognize. Thats because this hypothetical professor isnt following the Syntax rules of the English language. If the professor writes, Read pages 21 to 35 and do problems 6 to 14, you know exactly what to do.

The same is true of your computer. If you dont use the right order and correct format, your computer wont know how to proceed with your program and will stop, creating errors as it tells you that it doesnt understand what you want it to do.

The most basic elements include but are not limited to Statements , Variable Naming and White Space Syntaxes.

When working with a programming language, all the instructions are called Statements

Before moving on with the statements, there are some important things you need to know.

JavaScript is Case Sensitive

JavaScript is, in fact, a case sensitive language. This might create some confusion for those who have already learned multiple programming languages. We know there are many languages out there that are not case sensitive. When writing code in JavaScript, you will always have to start the name of constructor with a capital letter which is followed by the name of a function in lower-case letters.

Whitespace

If you have browsed through some of our sample codes, you have probably noticed the presence of a lot of blank areas outside the string constants. These spaces, tabs and newlines are referred to as Whitespace. One of the core differences between other languages and JavaScript is that is that in other languages it does not really matter how much blank space you leave between lines of your code, but in JavaScript, the whitespace directly impacts the semantics of the program itself.

The Significance of Semicolon

The statements written in JavaScript are mostly separated by semicolons . One key factor at play when writing code in JavaScript is a function called Automatic Semicolon. This feature is present in the language to make it a little easier for users. The way this works is that whenever a statement is written before a new line has been parsed, the first statement will automatically be taken as a complete and correct statement, acting as if a semicolon was in place. The option is always available for you to adjust the setting so you can prevent the automatic semicolon insertion mechanism. If you prefer to manually inserting semicolons in your code; this will eliminate undesired insertion of semicolons.

A Deeper Look at the Statements

The statements in JavaScript are made of various components. They create the language commands and instructions of the language itself. Above is a chart that shows the most common kinds of statements used in JavaScript.

• Values
• Operators
• Expression
• Keywords
• Comments

The above components are some of the most basic elements of JavaScript. We shall now go through each of them in brief details.

Values

When programming in JavaScript Syntax, you will come face to face with two types of values. Namely

• Fixed Values which are also called literals.
• Variable Values which are variables with interchangeable values.

Fixed Values Rules

When working with fixed values, there are two rules you should keep in mind:

Numbers can be written either with a decimal point or without a decimal point.

Ex: 10

10.10

Strings (Text) can be written with either double quotes or single quotes.

Ex: I am Jim

You are Henry

Variables Rule

A slightly different rule is followed when writing JavaScript variables (Variables act as containers to store data values).The Var keyword is used to declare variables . Also, an equal sign (=) is used to assign values to the declared variable.

For Example:

var a;

a = 9;

(a is defined as a variable, and a is assigned the value 9)

Similarly, you can put a string in a variable as well.

var food = I Love Food;

As we have mentioned earlier, the white spaces does play an important role in JavaScript programming, in this scenario, the white spaces inside the quotations marks will act as blank spaces.

var food = I Love Food ;

When naming your variables, use words that are meaningful instead of fragments or shortcuts. Consider if you want to create a variable that will handle the names of colleges you want to attend. You could define your variable as such: