JavaScript 'hoisting' [duplicate]

Question

I came across JavaScript 'hoisting' and I didn't figure out how this snippet of code really functions:

var a = 1;

function b() {
    a = 10;
    return;

    function a() {}
}

b();
alert(a);

I know that function declaration like ( function a() {} ) is going to be hoisted to the top of the function b scope but it should not override the value of a (because function declarations override variable declarations but not variable initialization) so I expected that the value of the alert would be 10 instead of 1!!

Answer 1

1. The global a is set to 1
2. b() is called
3. function a() {} is hoisted and creates a local variable a that masks the global a
4. The local a is set to 10 (overwriting the function a)
5. The global a (still 1) is alerted

Answer 2

It's because the order of compilation/interpretation in this example is somewhat misleading. The function a () {} line is interpreted before any of the rest of the function is executed, so at the very beginning of the function, a has the value of function a () {}. When you reassign it to 10, you are reassigning the value of a in the local scope of function b(), which is then discarded once you return, leaving the original value of a = 1 in the global scope.

You can verify this by placing alert()s or the like in the appropriate places to see what the value of a is at various points.

Answer 3

(1) JavaScript does not have block statement scope; rather, it will be local to the code that the block resides within.

(2) Javascript's declaration of variables in a function scope, meaning that variables declared in a function are available anywhere in that function, even before they are assigned a value.

(3) Within the body of a function, a local variable takes precedence over a global variable with the same name. If you declare a local variable or function parameter with the same name as a global variable, you effectively hide the global variable.

you code is same as: (read comment)

<script>
var a = 1;          //global a = 1
function b() {
    a = 10;         
    var a = 20;     //local a = 20
}
b();
alert(a);           //global a  = 1
</script>

reference:
(1) JavaScript Variable Scope:
(2) A Dangerous Example of Javascript Hoisting
(3) Variable scope

So in your code:

var a = 1;          //global a = 1  
function b() {
    a = 10;         
    return;
    function a() {} //local 
}
b();
alert(a);           //global a = 1  

Answer 4

1. function declaration function a(){} is hoisted first, hence in local scope a is created.
2. If you have two variable with same name (one in global another in local), local variable always get precedence over global variable.
3. When you set a=10, you are setting the local variable a , not the global one.

Hence, the value of global variable remain same and you get, alerted 1