++
serves as a way to assign a value in programming. It must have a valid left-hand-side operand, even if it appears on the right side of the code.
In contrast, []
is simply a value and cannot be used for assignment purposes.
When you encounter [[]][0]
, it results in an empty array [], but since it points to an element within an existing array, it is considered a valid left-hand-side operand.
Let's clarify with a less complex example:
var x = 1
1++ // This will cause an error
x++ // This will work without issues
The specific behavior in JavaScript arises when you have an expression like +[] + 1
, where the empty array gets converted first to an empty string, then explicitly to zero (+""
equals 0
), which is then added to 1
.
It is important to note that the ++
operator always coerces to a number, unlike the +
operator which can be satisfied with an empty string (thus, [] + 1
equates to "" + "1"
). Hence, while working with ++
, remember to ensure the operands are treated as numbers, although it may not significantly impact your example scenario.