Strings & Templates

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Expert Answer & Key Takeaways

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JavaScript Strings

A JavaScript string is zero or more characters written inside quotes. Strings are used for storing and manipulating text.

1. Quotes and Strings

A JavaScript string can be written with single or double quotes:
let carName1 = "Volvo XC60"; let carName2 = 'Volvo XC60';
You can use quotes inside a string, as long as they don't match the quotes surrounding the string:
let answer1 = "It's alright"; let answer2 = "He is called 'Johnny'"; let answer3 = 'He is called "Johnny"';

2. String Length

To find the length of a string, use the built-in length property:
let text = "ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ"; let length = text.length;

3. Escape Characters

Because strings must be written within quotes, JavaScript will misunderstand this string:
// This will error let res = "We are the so-called "Vikings" from the north.";
To solve this problem, you can use the backslash escape character. The backslash (\) escape character turns special characters into string characters:
CodeResultDescription
\''Single quote
\""Double quote
\\\Backslash
let x = "We are the so-called \"Vikings\" from the north.";

4. Template Literals (ES6)

Template Literals use backticks (``) rather than quotes to define a string. With template literals, you can use both single and double quotes inside a string:
let text = `He's often called "Johnny"`;
Template literals also allow multi-line strings:
let text = `The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog`;

5. String Interpolation

Template literals allow variables and expressions in strings:
let firstName = "John"; let lastName = "Doe"; let text = `Welcome ${firstName}, ${lastName}!`;
String interpolation is the preferred way to join (concatenate) strings in modern JavaScript development.

Top Interview Questions

?Interview Question

Q:What is the difference between single, double, and backtick quotes?
A:
Single and double quotes are mostly identical for defining simple strings. Backticks (template literals) allow for multi-line strings, string interpolation using ${}, and including both single and double quotes without needing escape characters.

?Interview Question

Q:How do you find the number of characters in a string?
A:
You use the .length property on any string variable (e.g., myString.length).

?Interview Question

Q:What is an escape character?
A:
An escape character () is used to tell JavaScript that a special character (like a quote or backslash) should be treated as literal text instead of a part of the language syntax.

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