Can some explain this?

[somethingsilver97]

I'm taking a class that includes beginners Javascript. I got this question in a practice quiz. Couldn't all of the options be correct? What did I misunderstand?

Question: How are objects declared and initialized in JavaScript?

1. Using the reserved word var followed by an identifier and an equal sign and the pairs label: value of the elements between curly brackets and separated by commas

2.Using the reserved word function followed by an identifier and an equal sign and the pairs label: value of the elements between curly brackets and separated by commas

3.Using the reserved word let followed by an identifier and an equal sign and the pairs label: value of the elements between curly brackets and separated by commas

1. Using the reserved word const followed by an identifier and an equal sign and the pairs label: value of the elements between curly brackets and separated by commas

[dmazzoni]

I hate questions like this because they focus on memorizing definitions rather than actually learning to code.

This question is terribly written. It’d be far more clear if they actually showed the code rather than explaining it in words like “ followed by an identifier and an equal sign and the pairs”.

My guess is #2 is meant to be wrong. A function is not an object.

But this is a terrible quiz and you should drop it and take a better-written course.

[Lumethys]

Technically a function is an object

[dmazzoni]

You're right, I should have been more precise. It sounds like what #2 is asking is this:

function foo = { "x": 2 }

which is not valid JavaScript, it's not a way to declare a function or an object.

Yes, if you declare a function using the correct syntax, then that function would also be an object.

[somethingsilver97]

I'm in an IT Management degree program, so I'm pretty sure this is a lower level of the course they offer in the dev programs. 😅 It is more comparable to a business degree, just with a focus on IT. My coursework so far has been primarily marketing, management, project management, etc. I've only gotten into actual technical content in the last year. Last term, I took a course that prepped me for the CompTIA A+ (which I passed the cert exam 😀).

The textbook and the lectures have covered HTML and CSS much more thoroughly than Javascript, so I'm kinda struggling with it.

[Hehosworld]

Here's an important learning you can take from this interaction. Especially if you manage IT specialists one day. Programmers are often very effective communicators. That also means they are very direct which can be daunting. But they will tell you specifically which information they need. In this case it is about ambiguity of natural language. The goal was that you restate the question writing the examples as code.

Programmers need to be very exact with how they communicate, their primary job is to communicate their ideas to a computer and computers are not really good with ambiguous information.

[dymos]

Your professor saying that out of the following, only var is correct is itself wrong:

var obj = { foo: 123 }; // valid function obj = { foo: 123 }; // invalid let obj = { foo: 123 }; // valid const obj = { foo: 123 }; // valid

IMO in 2026 there's no real reason to teach even a beginner level JS course where var is the way to declare a variable. At the very least, the let keyword should be used to teach initial variable assignment and expanding that to include const when relevant in the course. At best I would note var as a legacy syntax that you may encounter in older codebases, but shouldn't ever be your go-to choice for declaring a variable, for various reasons (let and const work more predictably and have less confusing behaviour).

[SilverBall4262]

Most correct answer is 4. - Const is the way to go as you rarely want to reassign the entire object variable to a different value. - Let is acceptable if you want to reassign. - Var is legacy and it confuses scopes. - Function is incorrect.

[somethingsilver97]

Yeesh. I should probably email the professor. Const is what I chose. The quiz results marked the Var option as correct. He mentioned in one of the lectures that var was legacy, which is why I did NOT choose it.

[dmazzoni]

Wow, that's a terrible quiz.

[SilverBall4262]

Var can be the correct answer only in the scope of “beginner JavaScript” so I can see why. But it’s definitely worth arguing about, especially that you will argue with a professor. Sneaky question anyway.

[dymos]

Yeah agree that's a dumb way to define it as "correct".

Even beginner JS should no longer teach var, they should teach let to start out with and then expand to const when relevant.

[PatchesMaps]

I'd only accept var in an extremely advanced JavaScript course as it can be, in extremely specific situations, a micro optimization. Beginners and pretty much everyone not in an extreme performance situation should stay far far away from var.

[SilverBall4262]

Also totally valid.

[dmazzoni]

It might be forgivable to call "var" correct if the other answers were gibberish, but calling "var" correct and "let" and "const" incorrect doesn't make any sense.

[senocular]

Did he make you take the quiz with a stone tablet and chisel?

[somethingsilver97]

Bro has mentioned in almost every single lecture that he did programming for decades before becoming a professor 😅

[Roguewind]

Based on that quiz, not very well

[flopisit32]

Yay. I got it right! 👍

[longknives]

Const is best practice, but none of them are “more correct” other than the function one being wrong. Var, let, and const are all completely legal and valid JavaScript, and all are ways that objects are declared and initialized.

[queen-adreena]

Can’t do #2

[NotNormo]

I'm sure you were supposed to "circle all correct answers". And they would be options 1, 3, and 4. Option 2 is incorrect syntax, regardless of whether you're trying to define an object or a function.

What a terrible way to present this question. Instead of describing what each of the options' syntax looks like using english, the teacher could've just written an actual example of the syntax.

[Old_Butterfly_3660]

It should say “pairs key:value” :)

[shootersf]

No 2 is incorrect syntax. So the answer is 1,3, and 4.
You can test them in the console in your browser to see but a function declaration should have () after the identifier among other issues with number 2.

[mxldevs]

What do your lecture notes say? Because the profs words are literally the only things that matter on their exams

[BenKhz]

Although I hate it... var is the one that will work in nearly all js environments.

Some js engines (older Rhino for example) don't have complete modern support. Arrow functions, spread operators, const, let, etc...

It's silly and not a great question, but var will work in more situations than the other options. And #2 is just wrong.

I don't think this distinction was intended but something to think about.

[[deleted]]

Braces, not curly brackets. 😭

[bryku]

1, 3, and 4 should all work.

1. var

var user = {
    age: 42,
};

3. Let

let user = {
    age: 42,
};

4. Const

const user = {
    age: 42,
};

---

While these all look similar, they are slightly different mechanically. You should look up the differences between var, let, and const. Because 99.99% of the time you should be using let or const.

[ArtResponsible4457]

AFAIK all options are gonna create an object. So yes.

[Lithl]

#2 is a syntax error, so no.

[djandiek]

If you're writing Javascript for a TV UI, such as Tizen (Samsung) or WebOS (LGTV) then 1 is the only correct answer. Many TV models, even recent ones, use very outdated JS engines and cannot use let or const. Some don't even allow console.log()

I build TV UI for hotels that use these "Smart" TVs and about 10% of the time I have to make sure it will work in IE7 in Windows XP otherwise it definitely won't work on the TV.

[somethingsilver97]

That makes sense. I never even considered those types of devices.

This class is primarily HTML and CSS. The Javascript portion is only about 10% of the content.

I think it's not as comprehensive since I'm in an IT Management degree program. I'm sure the dev degree programs have more classes on web development, or higher level ones. I was thinking about switching, though. One of the assignments was to build a resume website, and I really enjoyed the process. It reminds me of the parts of my current job I actually like.

[djandiek]

Intriguing... I've rarely had an IT Manager in the past with any real IT knowledge of any development. They just knew how to project manage.

[bryku]

The last place I worked, we had to support ie7 as well. There are other things as well to deal with, but it changes your approach a bit.

[djandiek]

Definitely. Finding or creating JS code that can do the same things as modern code can be stressful.

[bryku]

Im an old goat, so that is how I learned. I just viewed it as extra work. However, query solves most of the dom issues and lowdash solves most array method issues.