ES6 Syntax and Feature Overview
taniarascia.com/es6-syntax-and-feature-overview
Written by Tania Rascia on April 09, 2018
javascriptreference
ECMAScript 2015, also known as ES6, introduced many changes to JavaScript. Here is an
overview of some of the most common features and syntactical differences, with
comparisons to ES5 where applicable.
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Note: A commonly accepted practice is to use const except in cases of loops and
reassignment. However, in this resource I'll be using let in place of var for all ES6
examples.
Legend
I'm not a fan of foo bar baz . Here is a key of most identifier names used throughout
this reference.
Variable: x
Object: obj
Array: arr
Function: func
Parameter, method: a , b , c
String: str
Table of contents
Variable declaration
Constant declaration
Arrow function syntax
Template literals
Implicit returns
Key/property shorthand
Method definition shorthand
Destructuring (object matching)
Array iteration (looping)
1/10
Default parameters
Spread syntax
Classes/constructor functions
Inheritance
Modules - export/import
Promises/callbacks
Variables and constant feature comparison
I explain the concepts of scope and the differences between let , var , and const in
the Understanding Variables, Scope, and Hoisting in JavaScript resource on DigitalOcean.
This table provides a brief overview.
Keyword Scope Hoisting Can Be Reassigned Can Be Redeclared
var Function scope Yes Yes Yes
let Block scope No Yes No
const Block scope No No No
Variable declaration
ES6 introduced the let keyword, which allows for block-scoped variables which cannot
be hoisted or redeclared.
ES5
var x = 0
ES6
let x = 0
MDN Reference: let
Constant declaration
ES6 introduced the const keyword, which cannot be redeclared or reassigned, but is not
immutable.
ES6
const CONST_IDENTIFIER = 0 // constants are uppercase by convention
MDN Reference: const
Arrow functions
2/10
The arrow function expression syntax is a shorter way of creating a function expression.
Arrow functions do not have their own this , do not have prototypes, cannot be used for
constructors, and should not be used as object methods.
ES5
function func(a, b, c) {} // function declaration
var func = function (a, b, c) {} // function expression
ES6
let func = (a) => {} // parentheses optional with one parameter
let func = (a, b, c) => {} // parentheses required with multiple parameters
MDN Reference: Arrow functions
Template literals
Concatenation/string interpolation
Expressions can be embedded in template literal strings.
ES5
var str = 'Release date: ' + date
ES6
let str = `Release Date: ${date}`
MDN Reference: Expression interpolation
Multi-line strings
Using template literal syntax, a JavaScript string can span multiple lines without the need
for concatenation.
ES5
var str = 'This text ' + 'is on ' + 'multiple lines'
ES6
let str = `This text
is on
multiple lines`
Note: Whitespace is preserved in multi-line template literals. See Removing leading
whitespace in ES6 template strings.
MDN Reference: Multi-line strings
3/10
Implicit returns
The return keyword is implied and can be omitted if using arrow functions without a
block body.
ES5
function func(a, b, c) {
return a + b + c
}
ES6
let func = (a, b, c) => a + b + c // curly brackets must be omitted
MDN Reference: Function body
Key/property shorthand
ES6 introduces a shorter notation for assigning properties to variables of the same name.
ES5
var obj = {
a: a,
b: b,
}
ES6
let obj = {
a,
b,
}
MDN Reference: Property definitions
Method definition shorthand
The function keyword can be omitted when assigning methods on an object.
ES5
var obj = {
a: function (c, d) {},
b: function (e, f) {},
}
ES6
let obj = {
a(c, d) {},
b(e, f) {},
}
4/10
obj.a() // call method a
MDN Reference: Method definitions
Destructuring (object matching)
Use curly brackets to assign properties of an object to their own variable.
var obj = {a: 1, b: 2, c: 3}
ES5
var a = obj.a
var b = obj.b
var c = obj.c
ES6
let {a, b, c} = obj
MDN Reference: Object initializer
Array iteration (looping)
A more concise syntax has been introduced for iteration through arrays and other iterable
objects.
var arr = ['a', 'b', 'c']
ES5
for (var i = 0; i < arr.length; i++) {
console.log(arr[i])
}
ES6
for (let i of arr) {
console.log(i)
}
MDN Reference: for...of
Default parameters
Functions can be initialized with default parameters, which will be used only if an
argument is not invoked through the function.
ES5
var func = function (a, b) {
b = b === undefined ? 2 : b
return a + b
}
5/10
ES6
let func = (a, b = 2) => {
return a + b
}
func(10) // returns 12
func(10, 5) // returns 15
MDN Reference: Default paramters
Spread syntax
Spread syntax can be used to expand an array.
ES6
let arr1 = [1, 2, 3]
let arr2 = ['a', 'b', 'c']
let arr3 = [...arr1, ...arr2]
console.log(arr3) // [1, 2, 3, "a", "b", "c"]
Spread syntax can be used for function arguments.
ES6
let arr1 = [1, 2, 3]
let func = (a, b, c) => a + b + c
console.log(func(...arr1)) // 6
MDN Reference: Spread syntax
Classes/constructor functions
ES6 introducess the class syntax on top of the prototype-based constructor function.
ES5
function Func(a, b) {
this.a = a
this.b = b
}
Func.prototype.getSum = function () {
return this.a + this.b
}
var x = new Func(3, 4)
ES6
6/10
class Func {
constructor(a, b) {
this.a = a
this.b = b
}
getSum() {
return this.a + this.b
}
}
let x = new Func(3, 4)
x.getSum() // returns 7
MDN Reference: Classes
Inheritance
The extends keyword creates a subclass.
ES5
function Inheritance(a, b, c) {
Func.call(this, a, b)
this.c = c
}
Inheritance.prototype = Object.create(Func.prototype)
Inheritance.prototype.getProduct = function () {
return this.a * this.b * this.c
}
var y = new Inheritance(3, 4, 5)
ES6
class Inheritance extends Func {
constructor(a, b, c) {
super(a, b)
this.c = c
}
getProduct() {
return this.a * this.b * this.c
}
}
let y = new Inheritance(3, 4, 5)
y.getProduct() // 60
MDN Reference: Subclassing with extends
Modules - export/import
7/10
Modules can be created to export and import code between files.
index.html
<script src="export.js"></script>
<script type="module" src="import.js"></script>
export.js
let func = (a) => a + a
let obj = {}
let x = 0
export {func, obj, x}
import.js
import {func, obj, x} from './export.js'
console.log(func(3), obj, x)
Promises/Callbacks
Promises represent the completion of an asynchronous function. They can be used as an
alternative to chaining functions.
ES5 callback
function doSecond() {
console.log('Do second.')
}
function doFirst(callback) {
setTimeout(function () {
console.log('Do first.')
callback()
}, 500)
}
doFirst(doSecond)
ES6 Promise
8/10
let doSecond = () => {
console.log('Do second.')
}
let doFirst = new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
setTimeout(() => {
console.log('Do first.')
resolve()
}, 500)
})
doFirst.then(doSecond)
An example below using XMLHttpRequest , for demonstrative purposes only (Fetch API
would be the proper modern API to use).
ES5 callback
function makeRequest(method, url, callback) {
var request = new XMLHttpRequest()
request.open(method, url)
request.onload = function () {
callback(null, request.response)
}
request.onerror = function () {
callback(request.response)
}
request.send()
}
makeRequest('GET', 'https://url.json', function (err, data) {
if (err) {
throw new Error(err)
} else {
console.log(data)
}
})
ES6 Promise
9/10
function makeRequest(method, url) {
return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
let request = new XMLHttpRequest()
request.open(method, url)
request.onload = resolve
request.onerror = reject
request.send()
})
}
makeRequest('GET', 'https://url.json')
.then((event) => {
console.log(event.target.response)
})
.catch((err) => {
throw new Error(err)
})
MDN Reference
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