Is it not feasible to pass a local variable with the same name as a global variable in JavaScript?

const foo = "foobar";
function bar(){
    const foo = foo || "";
    return foo;
}
bar();`

When running this code, it returns an empty string. Why is JavaScript unable to reassign a local variable with the same name as a global variable? Most other programming languages would produce the expected result of "foobar", so why does JavaScript behave differently in this case?

Answer №1

One reason for this behavior is due to the local variable being declared with the same name as the global variable, causing it to overshadow the global variable. This means that when you reference foo, you are actually referring to the local variable. In JavaScript, variables are function-scoped, so even if you mention it before declaring the local variable, it will still be seen as the local one. One workaround for this is to access the global variable as a property of the global object (window):

var foo = window.foo || "";

In this context, window.foo specifically points to the global variable.

Answer №2

When the interpreter encounters var foo, it automatically interprets foo as a local variable. Why is this? It all boils down to the language's design and structure, which dictate this behavior. (And no, this is not unique to just this programming language)

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