JavaScript Oddity - Array Increment Trick

What is the reason behind

++[[]][0] == 1

While trying to do

++[]

leads to an error?

Shouldn't they produce the same result? My understanding is that the first example performs an index-read on the array, resulting in an array within an array. Then the increment operation is carried out. If this is the case, why does the second example not work?

Answer №1

++ 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.

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