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JavaScript

Posted by Margarita Cascante Makarova
Margarita Cascante Makarova
Courses Plus Student 3,053 Points

Statement v.s Expression

Hello everyone! In the video Jim says that:

"We can't just write a simple for loop, because like an if statement, it is a statement and not an expression. Instead we'll use the map function of the array."

I don't really understand what he means by saying that. "if" and "loop" are statements? What is a statement and what's the difference with an expression in general and in this particular example?

2 Answers

Steven Parker
Steven Parker
243,228 Points
Steven Parker
Steven Parker
243,228 Points

Statements are executed and cause something to happen. Expressions are evaluated and return a value, but don't change anything.

Examples:

var sample = "test";  // this statement creates and sets the value of "sample"
6 * 3 + 11            // this expression evaluates to the value 29, but doesn't save it anywhere
amt = 12 * 2 - 7;     // both: the expression is evaluated and then the statement assigns it

For more specific answers, always provide a link to the course page.

Margarita Cascante Makarova
PLUS
Margarita Cascante Makarova
Courses Plus Student 3,053 Points
Margarita Cascante Makarova
Margarita Cascante Makarova
Courses Plus Student 3,053 Points

Thank you very much!!It’s been really helpful!