I just bought the newest version of "JavaScript: The Definitive Guide" and already have a question. :D
Are the following lines semantically the same:
var square = function(n){
return n * n;
};
and
function square(n){
return n * n;
}
If yes, what are the advantages/disadvantages of using either of them?
Thanks for your help!
Check this out:
a(); // prints 'A'
function a(){
console.log('A');
};
and this:
b(); // throws error. b is not a function
var b = function() {
console.log('B');
};
Did you notice the difference?
Yes, they do the exact same thing.
The main advantage of the first approach is that it gives you a reference to that function so that you could pass it to another function or attach it to an object if you need to.
Difference is that in the first solution, you can do that :
var square = function(n){
return n * n;
};
// some code
square = function(n) { return n*n*n; }
you have reference to a function. On the other solution, the function is statically declared.
Disclaimer: need JS guru to tell me if I'm wrong =).
n*n*n for a square method is silly, but it is just for the example.