In programming, it is common to use assignments to modify the contents of a variable.
Remember that everything to the right of the equals sign (=) is evaluated first, so we can say:
myVar = myVar + 5;
to add 5 to myVar.
Since this is such a common pattern, there are operators which do both a mathematical operation and assignment in one step.
One such operator is the += operator:
let myVar = 10;
myVar += 5;
console.log(myVar);
This code would print 15 to the console. We call myVar += 5 an augmented assignment.
There is one such operator for every other arithmetic operator we've learned:
For subtraction: -=
let myVar = 10;
myVar -= 5; // short for myVar = myVar - 5;
console.log(myVar); // Prints 5
For multiplication: *=
let myVar = 3;
myVar *= 5; // short for myVar = myVar * 5;
console.log(myVar); // Prints 15
For division: /=
let myVar = 20;
myVar /= 4; // short for myVar = myVar / 4;
console.log(myVar); // Prints 5
For remainder: %=
let myVar = 11;
myVar %= 3; // short for myVar = myVar % 3;
console.log(myVar); // Prints 2
For exponentiation: **=
let myVar = 3;
myVar **= 3; // short for myVar = myVar ** 3;
console.log(myVar); // Prints 27
Assignment
Follow the Coding Tutorial and let's do some augmented assignments.
Hint
Look at the examples above if you get stuck.
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