Variables and Data Types in JavaScript

Continued from Understanding Variables:

Like other languages, JavaScript variables must also conform to certain rules. Variable names must start with either a letter or an underscore, but they can contain numbers later on in the name. JavaScript variables are also case-sensitive.

As in ActionScript, JavaScript variable types do not need to be specified when they are created and data types are converted automatically as needed.

JavaScript has several built-in data types:

• Boolean – a data type with only two possible values: true or false
• Null – a special data value that has no value and means nothing; not the same as zero
• Number – any series of numeric values, including integers and floating point numbers; can be expressed in decimal ( base 10 ), hexadecimal ( base 16 ), or octal ( base 8 )
• Object – built-in or user-defined classes of data; a collection of properties or attributes
• String – a series of alphanumeric characters, numbers, and punctuation marks
• Undefined – a special data value representing an absence of data; default value for variables declared without a value

When using integers in the Number data type, a leading 0 ( zero ) is used to specify that the integer is octal, and a leading 0x or 0X is used to specify hexadecimal. A floating point number can contain a either a decimal or an “e” to represent “ten to the power of” in scientific notation, or both.

Continued in:

• Variables and Data Types in PHP