DEV Community

Cover image for Arrow Function In JavaScript
Mohammad Moiz Ali
Mohammad Moiz Ali

Posted on • Originally published at Medium

Arrow Function In JavaScript

Arrow functions are a newer syntax for creating functions in JavaScript. They provide a more concise syntax and a different way of handling the this keyword compared to traditional functions. In this blog post, we'll explore arrow functions in JavaScript, including their syntax, parameters, and benefits.

Syntax of Arrow Functions in JavaScript:

Arrow functions are declared using a new syntax that replaces the function keyword with an arrow (=>) symbol. Here's an example of a simple arrow function that logs a message to the console:

const myFunction = () => {
  console.log("Hello, world!");
}
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

In this code, we declare an arrow function called myFunction that logs the message "Hello, world!" to the console when it is called. To call the function, we simply use its name followed by a set of parentheses:

myFunction(); // logs "Hello, world!" to the console
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Parameters in Arrow Functions:

Like traditional functions, arrow functions can also accept input values called parameters, which allow you to pass data into the function when it is called. Parameters are declared inside the parentheses when the function is declared. Here's an example of an arrow function that takes two parameters and logs their sum to the console:

const addNumbers = (num1, num2) => {
  console.log(num1 + num2);
}
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

In this code, we declare an arrow function called addNumbers that takes two parameters: num1 and num2. When the function is called, it logs the sum of num1 and num2 to the console. To call the function with specific values for the parameters, we pass them in as arguments inside the parentheses:

addNumbers(5, 7); // logs 12 to the console
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Benefits of Arrow Functions:

Arrow functions provide a number of benefits over traditional functions in JavaScript. One major benefit is their more concise syntax, which can make your code easier to read and understand. For example, the arrow function syntax allows you to write a simple function like this:

const doubleNumber = num => num * 2;
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

This function takes a single parameter called num, and returns its value multiplied by 2. The arrow function syntax allows you to omit the parentheses around the parameter, as well as the curly braces around the function body, since it's a one-liner.

Another benefit of arrow functions is that they handle the this keyword differently than traditional functions. In traditional functions, the value of this can be affected by how the function is called. In arrow functions, however, the value of this is always determined by the surrounding context where the function is declared. This can make your code more predictable and easier to reason about.

Conclusion:

Arrow functions provide a more concise syntax and a different way of handling the this keyword compared to traditional functions. They can make your code easier to read and understand, and provide a more predictable behavior for the this keyword. By understanding how to use arrow functions in JavaScript, you can write more efficient and maintainable code.

Top comments (2)

Collapse
 
tracygjg profile image
Tracy Gilmore

Hi Mohammad,
May I suggest you add syntax highlighting to your code blocks. This can be done by adding the word javascript immediately after the initial three back-ticks.

Take a look at this

Regards, Tracy

Collapse
 
makstyle119 profile image
Mohammad Moiz Ali

thanks a lot 😇, Tracy, I'm surely going to use this for now on