splice
call in the tabClose()
function. Unfortunately, splice
changes the original array it is called on, so the second call to it used a modified array, and gave unexpected results.
This is a small example of a much larger pattern - you call a function on a variable, array, or an object, and the function changes the variable or something in the object.
One of the core principle of functional programming is to not change things. Changes lead to bugs. It's easier to prevent bugs knowing that your functions don't change anything, including the function arguments or any global variable.
The previous example didn't have any complicated operations but the splice
method changed the original array, and resulted in a bug.
Recall that in functional programming, changing or altering things is called mutation
, and the outcome is called a side effect
. A function, ideally, should be a pure function
, meaning that it does not cause any side effects.
Let's try to master this discipline and not alter any variable or object in our code.
incrementer
so it returns the value of the global variable fixedValue
increased by one.
incrementer
should not change the value of fixedValue
.
testString: 'assert(fixedValue === 4, "Your function incrementer
should not change the value of fixedValue
.");'
- text: Your incrementer
function should return a value that is one larger than the fixedValue
value.
testString: 'assert(newValue === 5, "Your incrementer
function should return a value that is one larger than the fixedValue
value.");'
```