How to Instruct a Computer
Let's write some code to make the computer perform simple calculations and display the results!
const a = 1; const b = 2; const c = 3; console.log((a + c) * b);
Here,
console.log
is a function that displays values on the screen, showing whatever value is passed within the parentheses.
const
is a keyword that defines a constant
value which does not change during the execution of the program. In const a = 1
, we are assigning the value of 1 to a constant a
.
In this context, a keyword
is a term with a special meaning in JavaScript that users cannot use as variable names, and =
is the operator used to assign values to constants.
The Meaning of =
In programming, the =
operator is used not to signify "equals," as learned in math class, but instead to mean "assign the value on the right to the left."
Similarly, we assign the value 2
to constant b
, and 3
to constant c
.
The Meaning of the Multiplication Operator *
In (a + c) * b
, the asterisk (*
) represents multiplication.
As a reference, division in programming languages uses a slash (
/
).
Thus, the result of multiplying the summed value of a
and c
by b
, which is 4 * 2 = 8
, is passed to console.log
.
Displaying Output
console.log
is a function that outputs the value passed within its parentheses. Without console.log
, the result of the operation (a + c) * b
would not be displayed on the screen.
Simple, isn't it?
We successfully instructed the computer to perform a simple calculation and output task using JavaScript!
In the next lesson, we'll learn about adding simple comments
to JavaScript code.
In JavaScript, does the =
operator mean 'equals' as it does in mathematics?
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