Variable hoisting Function hoisting

Variable hoisting

Another unusual thing about variables in JavaScript is that you can refer to a variable declared later, without getting an exception. This concept is known as hoisting; variables in JavaScript are in a sense "hoisted" or lifted to the top of the function or statement. However, variables that are hoisted will return a value of undefined. So even if you declare and initialize after you use or refer to this variable, it will still return undefined.

/**
 * Example 1
 */
console.log(x === undefined); // true
var x = 3;

/**
 * Example 2
 */
// will return a value of undefined
var myvar = "my value";

(function() {
  console.log(myvar); // undefined
  var myvar = "local value";
})();

The above examples will be interpreted the same as:

/**
 * Example 1
 */
var x;
console.log(x === undefined); // true
x = 3;

/**
 * Example 2
 */
var myvar = "my value";

(function() {
  var myvar;
  console.log(myvar); // undefined
  myvar = "local value";
})();

Because of hoisting, all var statements in a function should be placed as near to the top of the function as possible. This best practice increases the clarity of the code.

In ECMAScript 2015, let (const) will not hoist the variable to the top of the block. However, referencing the variable in the block before the variable declaration results in a ReferenceError. The variable is in a "temporal dead zone" from the start of the block until the declaration is processed.

console.log(x); // ReferenceError
let x = 3;

Function hoisting

For functions, only function declaration gets hoisted to the top and not the function expression.

/* Function declaration */

foo(); // "bar"

function foo() {
  console.log("bar");
}

/* Function expression */

baz(); // TypeError: baz is not a function

var baz = function() {
  console.log("bar2");
};