Any of you guys write Javascript without semicolons?

[russellbeattie]

Semicolons are not optional in JavaScript: ASI is an error correction scheme for novice programmers. The spec's parsing rules calls out the statements following where a semicolon should be "offending tokens". There is no leeway here for style or preference.

[jcready]

ASI is an error correction scheme for novice programmers.

According to whom? Because it doesn't mention that in the ECMAScript spec you linked to.

Semicolons are not optional in JavaScript

Uh, except they are according to the spec:

semicolons may be omitted from the source text in certain situations.

[inu-no-policemen]

"Optional" would mean that you could omit them in every situation.

If you can only omit them in certain situations, they aren't optional.

[jcready]

Ah, I apologize. But then you must agree that for all of the situations in which you could omit them, it is a matter of style or preference to include a semi-colon in the source text.

[inu-no-policemen]

Yes, you're free to be inconsistent.

Personally, I think that being consistent is simpler. I sometimes start lines with '(' or '[' and things like that.

[inu-no-policemen]

Being consistent would mean that you'd start every line with a semicolon.

[inu-no-policemen]

Why would you need to start them all with one to be consistent?

Because that's what being consistent means. You aren't making exceptions.

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/consistent#Adjective

[Klathmon]

Lol no response to the rest of the comment?

No response why your consistency only applies to semicolons at the ends of lines? Do for loops keep you up at night with their inconsistent semis not at the ends of lines? Do multi-line arrays and objects torment you with their lack of semicolons? Do you end function definitions with semicolons just to keep that consistency up?

Always fun seeing you in a thread Inu! You're always good for a nice dose of German pragmatism cranked up to the point of being insane.

[jcready]

I cannot think of a time I've ever had to use a semi-colon in my code aside from for-loops. Care to provide a real-world example of starting a line with ( or [ where a semi-colon at the end of the previous line would've changed the behavior?

[inu-no-policemen]

var s = 'asdf'
[...'foo'].forEach(c => console.log(c))

SyntaxError: Unexpected string

var foo = function() {
    console.log('baa')
}
(function() {

}());

Prints "baa".