javascript is to web developers what powerpoint is to sales people
this post was submitted on 04 Jun 2025
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Imagine doing math with strings and then blaming the language not yourself
The risk is when it happens unintentionally. The language is bad for hiding such errors by being overly 'helpful' in assuming intent.
Sure, but at this point it's your own fault if you don't use Typescript to keep these issues from happening.
"Use a different language" is a common defense of javascript, but kind of a weird one.
Not really, considering Typescript only adds static types to JS. It's not a different language, it's an extension.
Since it needs to be compiled to JavaScript in order to be used, I kind of consider it a different language. Yes, it's a strict superset of JavaScript, but that makes it different.
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So, just don’t use JavaScript?
That's also my understanding: "Javascript is great because you can use other languages and then transpile them to JS."
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The problem is consistency.
Javascript is a dogshit language that everyone is stuck with. The best that we can hope for is the likes of typescript take the edge off of it. Even though it's like smearing marzipan over a turd. At least it's ok if you don't take a deep bite.
JS should have never leaved the Browser side. Now you can use this thing for Backend and is just awful
This is too stupid so I had to check.
Fuck me.
Hm, playing devil's advocate, I think it is because the minus has not been defined as a string operation (e.g. it could pop the last char), so it defaults to the mathematical operation and converts both inputs into ints.
The first is assumed to be a concat because one of the parcels is a string...
It's just doing a lot of stuff for you that it shouldn't be in first place 🤭
Yup. It's completely inconsistent in its interpretation of the + operator.
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From all the Javascript quiks this is the least stupid and the most obvious.
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It makes sense though
This here is my absolute favorits way to diss someone. Send the a wikipeda link and bam!
It does to some degree.
- "11" is string, 1 is an int, because strings can be added (+) convert int to string and combine: "11"+"1" = "111"
- "11" is string, 1 is an int, because strings cant be subtracted (-) convert string to int and combine: 11-1 = 10
I'm not into JS so I don't know how it takes priority. ints can be added too, so I guess its basing it on the first variable which is compatible with the operator: in the first case string, in the second case int.
If this is how it works, it makes sense. But imo its a case of the designers being preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.
.... It does?
That is just the tip of the iceberg:
so plus coerces into string if not number, was that so hard?
Oh wow, that's upsetting
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To start off... Using arithmetic operators on strings in combination with integers is a pure skill issue. Let's disregard this.
If you were to use + where one part is a string, it's natural to assume a string appending is desired since + is commonly used as a function for this. On the other hand, - is never used for any string operation. Therefore, it's safe to assume that it relates to actual artihmetics and any strings should therefore be converted to numerical values.
This is an issue with untyped languages. If you don't like it, use typescript. End of story.
Instead of trying to make it work, javascript could just say "error." Being untyped doesn't mean you can't have error messages.
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It's because + is two different operators and overloads based on the type to the left, while - is only a numeric operator and coerces left and right operands to numeric. But frankly if you're still using + for math or string concatenation in 2025, you're doing it wrong.
I know nothing about javascript, what is wrong with using + for math? perhaps naively, I'd say it looks suited for the job
The correct way to do it is to load a 500mb library that has an add function in it.
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It's much better to make your own function that uses bitwise operations to do addition.
function add(a, b) {
while (b !== 0) {
// Calculate carry
let carry = a & b;
// Sum without carry
a = a ^ b;
// Shift carry to the left
b = carry << 1;
}
return a;
}
(For certain definitions of better.)
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If you're consciously and intentionally using JavaScript like that, I don't want to be friends with you.
People that try to do mathematical operations with strings blaming the programming language that had a stated design goal to do its best and try to keep running scripts that make no sense because they realized it would be used by people that have no idea what they are doing. Clearly they were right.
the programming language that had a stated design goal to do its best and try to keep running scripts that make no sense...
...itself makes no sense. It is wrong and bad that Javascript was ever designed that way in the first place.
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What no type safety does to an MF...
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