Indenting Code in JavaScript

In the examples, I’ve been adding spaces in front of statements that are part of some larger statement. These spaces are not required—the computer will accept the programjust fine without them. In fact, even the line breaks in programs are optional. You could write a program as a single long line if you felt like it.

The role of this indentation inside blocks is to make the structure of the code stand out. In code where new blocks are opened inside other blocks, it can become hard to see where one block ends and another begins. With proper indentation, the visual shape of a program corresponds to the shape of the blocks inside it. I like to use two spaces for every open block, but tastes differ—some people use four spaces, and some people use tab char­acters. The important thing is that each new block adds the same amount of space.

if (false != true) {

console.log(“That makes sense.”);

if (1 < 2) {

console.log(“No surprise there.”);

}

}

Most code editor programs will help by automatically indenting new lines the proper amount.

Source: Haverbeke Marijn (2018), Eloquent JavaScript: A Modern Introduction to Programming,

No Starch Press; 3rd edition.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *