A JavaScript Style Guide() {

A mostly reasonable approach to JavaScript

Table of Contents

• Types

• Objects

• Arrays

• Strings

• Functions

• Properties

• Variables

• Hoisting

• Conditional Expressions & Equality

• Blocks

• Comments

• Whitespace

• Leading Commas

• Semicolons

• Type Coercion

• Naming Conventions

• Accessors

• Constructors

• Modules

• jQuery

• ES5 Compatability

• Testing

• Performance

• Resources

• Authors

• Contributors

• License

Types

• Primitives: When you access a primitive type you work directly on its value

• string

• number

• boolean

• null

• undefined

var foo = 1,
        bar = foo;

    bar = 9;

    console.log(foo, bar); // => 1, 9

• Complex: When you access a complex type you work on a reference to its value

• object

• array

• function

var foo = [1, 2],
        bar = foo;

    bar[0] = 9;

    console.log(foo[0], bar[0]); // => 9, 9

[[⬆]](#TOC)

Objects

• Use the literal syntax for object creation.

// bad
    var item = new Object();

    // good
    var item = {};

• Avoid using reserved words as property names. If you do use them, wrap them in single quotes.

// bad
    var superman = {
      class: 'superhero'
    };

    // good
    var superman = {
      klass: 'superhero'
    };

    // good
    var superman = {
      'class': 'superhero'
    };

[[⬆]](#TOC)

Arrays

• Use the literal syntax for array creation

// bad
    var items = new Array();

    // good
    var items = [];

• For performance reasons use direct assignment over Array#push

var len = items.length,
        itemsCopy = [],
        i;

    // bad
    for (i = 0; i < len; i++) {
      itemsCopy.push(items[i])
    }

    // good
    for (i = 0; i < len; i++) {
      itemsCopy[i] = items[i];
    }

[[⬆]](#TOC)

Strings

• Use single quotes '' for strings

// bad
    var name = "Bob Parr";

    // good
    var name = 'Bob Parr';

    // bad
    var fullName = "Bob" + this.lastName;

    // good
    var fullName = 'Bob' + this.lastName;

• Strings longer than 80 characters should be written across multiple lines using string concatenation.

// bad
    var errorMessage = 'This is a super long error that was thrown because of Batman. When you stop to think about how Batman had anything to do with this, you would get nowhere fast.';

    // bad
    var errorMessage = 'This is a super long error that \
    was thrown because of Batman. \
    When you stop to think about \
    how Batman had anything to do \
    with this, you would get nowhere \
    fast.';


    // good
    var errorMessage = 'This is a super long error that ' +
      'was thrown because of Batman.' +
      'When you stop to think about ' +
      'how Batman had anything to do ' +
      'with this, you would get nowhere ' +
      'fast.';

• When programatically building up a string, use Array#join instead of string concatenation. Mostly for IE: jsPerf.

var items,
        messages,
        length, i;

    messages = [{
        state: 'success',
        message: 'This one worked.'
    },{
        state: 'success',
        message: 'This one worked as well.'
    },{
        state: 'error',
        message: 'This one did not work.'
    }];

    length = messages.length;

    // bad
    function inbox(messages) {
      items = '<ul>';

      for (i = 0; i < length; i++) {
        items += '<li>' + messages[i].message + '</li>';
      }

      return items + '</ul>';
    }

    // good
    function inbox(messages) {
      items = [];

      for (i = 0; i < length; i++) {
        items[i] = '<li>' + messages[i].message + '</li>';
      }

      return '<ul>' + items.join('') + '</ul>';
    }

[[⬆]](#TOC)

Functions

• Function expressions:

// anonymous function expression
    var anonymous = function() {
      return true;
    };

    // named function expression
    var named = function named() {
      return true;
    };

    // immediately-invoked function expression (IIFE)
    (function() {
      console.log('Welcome to the Internet. Please follow me.');
    })();

• Never declare a function in a non-function block (if, while, etc). Assign the function to a variable instead. Browsers will allow you to do it, but they all interpret it differently, which is bad news bears.

// bad
    if (currentUser) {
      function test() {
        console.log('Nope.');
      }
    }

    // good
    if (currentUser) {
      var test = function test() {
        console.log('Yup.');
      };
    }

• Always return as early as possible

// bad
    function() {
      var size;

      if (!arguments.length) {
        size = false;
      } else {
        size = arguments.length;
      }

      return size;
    }

    // good
    function() {
      if (!arguments.length) {
        return false;
      }

      return arguments.length;
    }

• Never name a parameter arguments, this will take precendence over the arguments object that is given to every function scope.

// bad
    function nope(name, options, arguments) {
      // ...stuff...
    }

    // good
    function yup(name, options, args) {
      // ...stuff...
    }

[[⬆]](#TOC)

Properties

• Use dot notation when accessing properties.

var luke = {
      jedi: true,
      age: 28
    };

    // bad
    var isJedi = luke['jedi'];

    // good
    var isJedi = luke.jedi;

• Use subscript notation [] when accessing properties with a variable.

var luke = {
      jedi: true,
      age: 28
    };

    function getProp(prop) {
      return luke[prop];
    }

    var isJedi = getProp('jedi');

[[⬆]](#TOC)

Variables

• Always use var to declare variables. Not doing so will result in global variables. We want to avoid polluting the global namespace. Captain Planet warned us of that.

// bad
    superPower = new SuperPower();

    // good
    var superPower = new SuperPower();

• Use one var declaration for multiple variables and declare each variable on a newline.

// bad
    var items = getItems();
    var goGiants = true;
    var dragonball = 'z';

    // good
    var items = getItems(),
        goGiants = true,
        dragonball = 'z';

• Declare unassigned variables last. This is helpful when later on you might need to assign a variable depending on one of the previous assigned variables.

// bad
    var i, len, dragonball,
        items = getItems(),
        goGiants = true;

    // bad
    var i, items = getItems(),
        dragonball,
        goGiants = true,
        len;

    // good
    var items = getItems(),
        goGiants = true,
        dragonball,
        i, length;

• Assign variables at the top of their scope. This helps avoid issues with variable declaration and assignment hoisting related issues.

// bad
    function() {
      test();
      console.log('doing stuff..');

      //..other stuff..

      var name = getName();

      if (name === 'test') {
        return false;
      }

      return name;
    }

    // good
    function() {
      var name = getName();

      test();
      console.log('doing stuff..');

      //..other stuff..

      if (name === 'test') {
        return false;
      }

      return name;
    }

    // bad
    function() {
      var name = getName();

      if (!arguments.length) {
        return false;
      }

      return true;
    }

    // good
    function() {
      if (!arguments.length) {
        return false;
      }

      var name = getName();

      return true;
    }

[[⬆]](#TOC)

Hoisting

• Variable declarations get hoisted to the top of their scope, their assignment does not.

// we know this wouldn't work (assuming there
    // is no notDefined global variable)
    function example() {
      console.log(notDefined); // => throws a ReferenceError
    }

    // creating a variable declaration after you
    // reference the variable will work due to
    // variable hoisting. Note: the assignment
    // value of `true` is not hoisted.
    function example() {
      console.log(declaredButNotAssigned); // => undefined
      var declaredButNotAssigned = true;
    }

    // The interpretor is hoisting the variable
    // declaration to the top of the scope.
    // Which means our example could be rewritten as:
    function example() {
      var declaredButNotAssigned;
      console.log(declaredButNotAssigned); // => undefined
      declaredButNotAssigned = true;
    }

• Anonymous function expression hoist their variable name, but not the function assignment.

function example() {
      console.log(anonymous); // => undefined

      anonymous(); // => TypeError anonymous is not a function

      var anonymous = function() {
        console.log('anonymous function expression');
      };
    }

• Named function expressions hoist the variable name, not the function name or the function body.

function example() {
      console.log(named); // => undefined

      named(); // => TypeError named is not a function

      superPower(); // => ReferenceError superPower is not defined

      var named = function superPower() {
        console.log('Flying');
      };


      // the same is true when the function name
      // is the same as the variable name.
      function example() {
        console.log(named); // => undefined

        named(); // => TypeError named is not a function

        var named = function named() {
          console.log('named');
        };
      }
    }

• Function declarations hoist their name and the function body.

function example() {
      superPower(); // => Flying

      function superPower() {
        console.log('Flying');
      }
    }

• For more information refer to JavaScript Scoping & Hoisting by Ben Cherry

[[⬆]](#TOC)

Conditional Expressions & Equality

• Use === and !== over == and !=.

• Conditional expressions are evaluated using coercion with the ToBoolean method and always follow these simple rules:

• Objects evaluate to **true**

• Undefined evaluates to **false**

• Null evaluates to **false**

• Booleans evaluate to the value of the boolean

• Numbers evalute to **false** if +0, -0, or NaN, otherwise **true**

• Strings evaluate to **false if an empty string '', otherwise **true**

if ([0]) {
      // true
      // An array is an object, objects evaluate to true
    }

• Use shortcuts.

// bad
    if (name !== '') {
      // ...stuff...
    }

    // good
    if (name) {
      // ...stuff...
    }

    // bad
    if (collection.length > 0) {
      // ...stuff...
    }

    // good
    if (collection.length) {
      // ...stuff...
    }

• For more information see Truth Equality and JavaScript by Angus Croll

[[⬆]](#TOC)

Blocks

• Use braces with blocks and always on multiple lines.

// bad
    if (test) return false;

    // good
    if (test) {
      return false;
    }

    // bad
    function() { return false; }

    // good
    function() {
      return false;
    }

[[⬆]](#TOC)

Comments

• Use /** ... */ for multiline comments. Include a description, specify types and values for all parameters and return values.

// bad
    // make() returns a new element
    // based on the pased in tag name
    //
    // @param <String> tag
    // @return <Element> element
    function make(tag) {

      // ...stuff...

      return element;
    }

    // good
    /**
     * make() returns a new element
     * based on the pased in tag name
     *
     * @param <String> tag
     * @return <Element> element
     */
    function make(tag) {

      // ...stuff...

      return element;
    }

• Use // for single line comments. Place single line comments on a newline above the subject of the comment. Put an emptyline before the comment.

// bad
    var active = true;  // is current tab

    // good
    // is current tab
    var active = true;

    // bad
    function getType() {
      console.log('fetching type...');
      // set the default type to 'no type'
      var type = this._type || 'no type';i

      return type;
    }

    // good
    function getType() {
      console.log('fetching type...');

      // set the default type to 'no type'
      var type = this._type || 'no type';

      return type;
    }

[[⬆]](#TOC)

Whitespace

• Use soft tabs set to 2 spaces

// bad
    function() {
    ∙∙∙∙var name;
    }

    // bad
    function() {
    ∙ var name;
    }

    // good
    function() {
    ∙∙var name;
    }

• Place 1 space before the leading brace.

// bad
    function test(){
      console.log('test');
    }

    // good
    function test() {
      console.log('test');
    }

    // bad
    dog.set('attr',{
      age: '1 year',
      breed: 'Bernese Mountain Dog'
    });

    // good
    dog.set('attr', {
      age: '1 year',
      breed: 'Bernese Mountain Dog'
    });

• Place an empty newline at the end of the file.

// bad
    (function(global) {
      // ...stuff...
    })(this);

// good
    (function(global) {
      // ...stuff...
    })(this);

[[⬆]](#TOC)

Leading Commas

• Nope.

// bad
    var once
      , upon
      , aTime;

    // good
    var once,
        upon,
        aTime;

    // bad
    var hero = {
        firstName: 'Bob'
      , lastName: 'Parr'
      , heroName: 'Mr. Incredible'
      , superPower: 'strength'
    };

    // good
    var hero = {
      firstName: 'Bob',
      lastName: 'Parr',
      heroName: 'Mr. Incredible',
      superPower: 'strength'
    };

[[⬆]](#TOC)

Semicolons

• Yup.

// bad
    (function() {
      var name = 'Skywalker'
      return name
    })()

    // good
    (function() {
      var name = 'Skywalker';
      return name;
    })();

    // good
    ;(function() {
      var name = 'Skywalker';
      return name;
    })();

[[⬆]](#TOC)

Type Coercion

• Perform type coercion at the beginning of the statement.

• Strings:

//  => this.reviewScore = 9;

    // bad
    var totalScore = this.reviewScore + '';

    // good
    var totalScore = '' + this.reviewScore;

    // bad
    var totalScore = '' + this.reviewScore + ' total score';

    // good
    var totalScore = this.reviewScore + ' total score';

• Numbers:

var inputValue = '4';

    // bad
    var val = new Number(inputValue);

    // good
    var val = Number(inputValue);

    // good
    var val = +inputValue;

• Booleans:

var age = 0;

    // bad
    var hasAge = new Boolean(age);

    // good
    var hasAge = Boolean(age);

    // good
    var hasAge = !!age;

[[⬆]](#TOC)

Naming Conventions

• Avoid single letter names. Be descriptive with your naming.

// bad
    function q() {
      // ...stuff...
    }

    // good
    function query() {
      // ..stuff..
    }

• Use camelCase when naming objects, functions, and instances

// bad
    var OBJEcttsssss = {};
    var this_is_my_object = {};
    var this-is-my-object = {};
    function c() {};
    var u = new user({
      name: 'Bob Parr'
    });

    // good
    var thisIsMyObject = {};
    function thisIsMyFunction() {};
    var user = new User({
      name: 'Bob Parr'
    });

• Use PascalCase when naming constructors or classes

// bad
    function user(options){
      this.name = options.name;
    }

    var bad = new user({
      name: 'nope'
    });

    // good
    function User(options){
      this.name = options.name;
    }

    var good = new User({
      name: 'yup'
    });

• Use a leading underscore _ when naming private properties

// bad
    this.__firstName__ = 'Panda';
    this.firstName_ = 'Panda';

• Name your functions. This is helpful for stack traces.

// bad
    var log = function(msg) {
      console.log(msg);
    };

    // good
    var log = function log(msg) {
      console.log(msg);
    };

[[⬆]](#TOC)

Accessors

• Accessor functions for properties are not required

• If you do make accessor functions use getVal() and setVal('hello')

// bad
    dragon.age();

    // good
    dragon.getAge();

    // bad
    dragon.age(25);

    // good
    dragon.setAge(25);

• If the property is a boolean, use isVal() or hasVal()

// bad
    if (!dragon.age()) {
      return false;
    }

    // good
    if (!dragon.hasAge()) {
      return false;
    }

• It's okay to create get() and set() functions, but be consistent.

function Jedi(options) {
      options || (options = {});
      var lightsaber = options.lightsaber || 'blue';
      this.set('lightsaber', lightsaber);
    }

    Jedi.prototype.set: function(key, val) {
      this[key] = val;
    };

    Jedi.prototype.get = function(key) {
      return this[key];
    };

[[⬆]](#TOC)

Constructors

• Assign methods to the prototype object, instead of overwriting the prototype with a new object. Overwriting the prototype makes inheritance impossible: by resetting the prototype you'll overwrite the base!

function Jedi() {
      console.log('new jedi');
    }

    // bad
    Jedi.prototype = {
      fight: function fight() {
        console.log('fighting');
      },

      block: function block() {
        console.log('blocking');
      }
    };

    // good
    Jedi.prototype.fight = function fight() {
      console.log('fighting');
    };

    Jedi.prototype.block = function block() {
      console.log('blocking');
    };

• Constructor methods should try to return this. This helps with method chaining which is often useful.

// bad
    Jedi.prototype.jump = function() {
      this.jumping = true;
      return true;
    };

    Jedi.prototype.setHeight = function(height) {
      this.height = height;
    };

    var luke = new Jedi();
    luke.jump(); // => true
    luke.setHeight(20) // => undefined

    // good
    Jedi.prototype.jump = function() {
      this.jumping = true;
      return this;
    };

    Jedi.prototype.setHeight = function(height) {
      this.height = height;
      return this;
    };

    var luke = new Jedi();

    luke.jump()
      .setHeight(20);

• It's okay to write a custom toString() method, just make sure it works successfully and causes no side effects.

function Jedi(options) {
      options || (options = {});
      this.name = options.name || 'no name';
    }

    Jedi.prototype.getName = function getName() {
      return this.name;
    };

    Jedi.prototype.toString = function toString() {
      return 'Jedi - ' + this.getName();
    };

[[⬆]](#TOC)

Modules

• The file should be named with camelCase, live in a folder with the same name, and match the name of the single export.

• Add a method called noConflict() that sets the exported module to the previous version.

• Always declare 'use strict;' at the top of the module.

// fancyInput/fancyInput.js

    (function(global) {
      'use strict';

      var previousFancyInput = global.FancyInput;

      function FancyInput(options) {
        options || (options = {});
      }

      FancyInput.noConflict = function noConflict() {
        global.FancyInput = previousFancyInput;
      };

      global.FancyInput = FancyInput;
    })(this);

[[⬆]](#TOC)

jQuery

• Prefix jQuery object variables with a $.

// bad
    var sidebar = $('.sidebar');

    // good
    var $sidebar = $('.sidebar');

• Cache jQuery lookups.

// bad
    function setSidebar() {
      $('.sidebar').hide();

      // ...stuff...

      $('.sidebar').css({
        'background-color': 'pink'
      });
    }

    // good
    function setSidebar() {
      var $sidebar = $('.sidebar');
      $sidebar.hide();

      // ...stuff...

      $sidebar.css({
        'background-color': 'pink'
      });
    }

• Scope jQuery object queries with find. jsPerf

// bad
    $('.sidebar ul').hide();

    // bad
    $('.sidebar > ul').hide();

    // bad
    $('.sidebar', 'ul').hide();

    // good
    $('.sidebar').find('ul').hide();

[[⬆]](#TOC)

ECMAScript 5 Compatability

• Refer to Kangax's ES5 compatibility table

[[⬆]](#TOC)

Testing

• Yup.

function() {
      return true;
    }

[[⬆]](#TOC)

Performance

• String vs Array Concat

• Try/Catch Cost In a Loop

• Bang Function

• jQuery Find vs Context, Selector

• Loading...

[[⬆]](#TOC)

Resources

Read This

• Annotated ECMAScript 5.1

Other Styleguides

• Google JavaScript Style Guide

• jQuery Core Style Guidelines

• Principles of Writing Consistent, Idiomatic JavaScript

Books

• JavaScript: The Good Parts - Douglas Crockford

• JavaScript Patterns - Stoyan Stefanov

• Pro JavaScript Design Patterns - Ross Harmes and Dustin Diaz

• High Performance Web Sites: Essential Knowledge for Front-End Engineers - Steve Souders

• Maintainable JavaScript - Nicholas C. Zakas

• JavaScript Web Applications - Alex MacCaw

• Pro JavaScript Techniques - John Resig

• Smashing Node.js: JavaScript Everywhere - Guillermo Rauch

Blogs

• DailyJS

• JavaScript Weekly

• JavaScript, JavaScript...

• Bocoup Weblog

• Adequately Good

• NCZOnline

• Perfection Kills

• Ben Alman

• Dmitry Baranovskiy

• Dustin Diaz

• net.tutsplus

Authors

• Harrison Shoff || @hshoff

Contributors

• Dave Augustine || @daveaugustine

• Matt Baker || (@reissbaker)(//twitter/reissbaker)

License

(The MIT License)

Copyright (c) 2012 Harrison Shoff

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the 'Software'), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED 'AS IS', WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.

[[⬆]](#TOC)

};