Difference between var, let and const in Javascript

Posted 21 Feb. 2021 | 2 min read.

Since I've been getting back into working with JavaScript, there have been a few cases where I've had to quickly google to confirm something I probably should have already known. One of these things, is the difference between var, let and const in JavaScript.

We can declare variables in three ways in JavaScript:

var age = 28;
let height = 188;
const weight = 190;

But where would we use each one? Short version, in terms of updating:

  • If we want to update and/or re-declare the value, use var
  • If you want to update but not re-declare the value, you may use let
  • If you don't want to update the value, use const

And in terms of scope:

  • If you want to restrict the scope to either a function, or globally, use var
  • If you want to restrict the scope to a block (anything between two curly braces, i.e. for loops, if statements), use let or const

A quick example to sum up all these scenarios? Let's give it a go:

function sharePersonalDetails() {
  var age = 28;
  let height = 188;
  const weight = 200;
  
  if(age > 25)
  { 
    let iq = 100;
    let height = 210;
    
    console.log(age); // Outputs: 28
    console.log(iq); // Outputs: 100
    console.log(height); // Outputs: 210
    console.log(weight); // Outputs: 200
  }

  // Age should always be in scope
  console.log(age); // Outputs: 28
  
  // Iq however, is no longer in scope, as a let
  console.log(iq); // ReferenceError: iq is not defined
  
  // Whereas height is in scope! But it's the original one
  // The height within the if block is a separate variable to the original
  console.log(height); // Outputs: 188
  
  // We can declare age again, as it's a var
  var age = 30;

  // But we can't declare height again, as it's a let
  let height = 190; // Uncaught SyntaxError: Identifier 'height' has already been declared"

  // BUT, we can still reassign it
  height = 190;
  console.log(height); // Outputs: 190
  
  // And, being a const, this was never going to work
  weight = 185; // TypeError: Assignment to constant variable.
  console.log(weight); // Outputs: 200
}

There are a couple of different scenarios to consider, but this code block is normally enough to remind me why the developer has used let in one instance, and var in another.

Javascript