BEDMAS

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JavaScript, BEDMASEdit Post

If you know what BEDMAS is, skip this video.

This video will be covering BEDMAS and the order of operations in which JavaScript runs. It is exactly the same as how mathematicians use it.

The order in which things run is that things is brackets go first, then we do exponents (which is sort of like the power of).

We do have exponents in JavaScript. That looks like 2 ** 2 which is the equivalent of 2 to the power of 2.

2 ** 10 is 2 to the power of 10.

Next is division, multiplication, addition and subtraction.

Why is that useful?

Open up bedmas.html and in the script tag, let's say you have the following code 👇

const age = 10 * 5 - 2;

That evaluates to 48.

Why?

Because first it looks for brackets, of which there are none, then we move onto exponents, which are also none of, then multiplication next, so 10 * 5 = 50 then comes addition and subtraction so 50 - 2 = 48.

Now what if you have the code below? 👇

const age2 = 10 * (5 - 2);

First, it would evaluate what is in the brackets (5 - 2 = 3). Then we do exponents (there are none), and next comes multiplication so 10 * 3 = 30.

This is useful in things like the calculateBill() function from previous lessons.

const total = calculateBill(100) + (calculateBill(20) - calculateBill(15));

What is happening in the code above 👆 is that all the functions(calculateBill(100), calculateBill(20), calculateBill(15)) run first and equate to a value.

So the total variable declaration is actually evaluating the following:

const total = 128 + (25.6 - 19.2)

calculateBill(100) = 128 calculateBill(20) = 25.6 calculateBill(15) = 19.2

So in this case, the subtraction happens first (25.6 - 19.2) and then it's added to 128.

That is order of operations.

Next we will get into logic and flow control. If statements, truthy or falsy, equality using and and or, ternarry, switch statements, timers and intervals.