What is the reason behind this infinite loop occurrence?

Question

What is the reason behind this infinite loop occurrence?

As a newcomer to the world of coding, I recently embarked on learning JavaScript. However, I have encountered an issue with a particular piece of code causing an infinite loop that has left me perplexed. Despite having a birthday(myAge) function within the loop that should increment my age and make the condition (myAge < 23) false, it seems to be failing in its functionality. Can someone shed some light on why this is happening?

var myAge = 22
var birthday = function(myAge){
    return(myAge + 1);
}

while (myAge < 23){
    console.log("You're only 22");
    birthday(myAge)
}

javascript while-loop infinite-loop

Answer 1

Answer №1

Because the function is simply returning myAge + 1, it is not actually modifying the variable myAge.

To update the value of myAge, you can assign the return value back to it:

while (myAge < 23){
    console.log("You're only 22");
    myAge = birthday(myAge);
}

Alternatively, if you remove the function parameter, myAge within the function will refer to the global variable and you can modify it directly:

var myAge = 22
var birthday = function(){
    return (myAge = myAge + 1); 
}

while (myAge < 23){
    console.log("You're only 22");
    birthday();        
}

Answer 2

Because the function is simply returning myAge + 1, it is not actually modifying the variable myAge.

To update the value of myAge, you can assign the return value back to it:

while (myAge < 23){
    console.log("You're only 22");
    myAge = birthday(myAge);
}

Alternatively, if you remove the function parameter, myAge within the function will refer to the global variable and you can modify it directly:

var myAge = 22
var birthday = function(){
    return (myAge = myAge + 1); 
}

while (myAge < 23){
    console.log("You're only 22");
    birthday();        
}

Answer 3

Answer №2

If you want to avoid being stuck at age 22 forever, you must find a way to increase myAge. However, staying young forever doesn't sound too terrible either. It seems like you've stumbled upon the secret of eternal youth.

return (myAge += 1)

Answer 4

If you want to avoid being stuck at age 22 forever, you must find a way to increase myAge. However, staying young forever doesn't sound too terrible either. It seems like you've stumbled upon the secret of eternal youth.

return (myAge += 1)

What is the reason behind this infinite loop occurrence?

Answer №1

Answer №2

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