Top 18 New Things in JS - Part 1

Episode Summary

Executive Summary: This episode of Syntax covers nine favorite new JavaScript features from ES6 and beyond, focusing on how they improve readability, control flow, and developer ergonomics. Scott and Wes discuss variable declarations, template literals, destructuring, promises, async/await, computed property names, and concise object method syntax, while sharing practical examples from React, Apollo, and databases. The episode also includes sponsor mentions, personal updates, and recommendations.

Main Topics: Modern variable declarations: const and let: The hosts explain how const and let replace var in most modern codebases by adding block scoping and preventing redeclaration; const cannot be rebound, though object/array contents can still be mutated. Template literals and tagged templates: They highlight backtick strings as a cleaner way to interpolate variables and reduce quote escaping, plus tagged templates as a way for libraries like styled-components to process template strings. Destructuring patterns: Object, array, and function-parameter destructuring are presented as major readability and ergonomics improvements, useful for extracting values, renaming properties, providing defaults, and swapping variables. Promises and asynchronous control flow: Promises are framed as the foundation for handling asynchronous work without callback hell, enabling chaining and standardized resolve/reject behavior across libraries and APIs. Async/await and error handling: Async/await is described as syntactic sugar over promises that makes async code look synchronous, while also introducing discussion of try/catch and alternative error-handling patterns. Object syntax enhancements: Computed property names and shorthand object methods are shown as concise syntax improvements that simplify object construction and method definitions, especially in forms and reusable code. Practical tooling and workflow examples: The hosts connect these features to real-world usage in React, Apollo, Mongoose, and editor tooling like Prettier and quote-toggling extensions, emphasizing day-to-day productivity gains.

Key Arguments: const should be the default variable declaration, with let only when reassignment is needed; var is largely avoided because modern syntax is safer and more predictable. Template literals simplify string building and reduce quoting/escaping issues, making concatenation less verbose and easier to read. Object and function destructuring dramatically reduce boilerplate in React, API responses, and general object handling by pulling needed values into named variables. Destructuring can also rename values and provide fallback defaults, which helps avoid ambiguous names like data and reduces bug-prone null/undefined checks. Promises solve callback hell by returning a standardized future value that can be resolved or rejected, allowing chaining and interoperability across libraries. Async/await improves promise syntax by letting developers write asynchronous logic with familiar variable-assignment and control-flow patterns. Computed property names and shorthand methods make dynamic object creation and object methods much cleaner, especially in forms and state updates. The hosts stress that these features are not just trendy syntax changes; they materially improve readability, maintainability, and developer experience in everyday code.

Data Points: Top JavaScript features discussed: 9 - The episode covers nine favorite new JavaScript features in this installment, with nine more teased for a follow-up episode. Total list size teased: 18 - Scott says they are splitting a top 18 list of new JavaScript features across two episodes. Course review status: Almost done after about 8 months - Wes says his course is in review and nearing completion after working on it for about eight months. Intermediate React workshop prep: About 1.5 weeks - Wes mentions he has been cooking up an intermediate React workshop for the last week and a half. Talk and workshop location: Toronto - Wes says he has an upcoming talk and workshop in Toronto. Editing experience: About 2,500 videos - Scott says he has edited around two and a half thousand videos and still misses errors sometimes. Denver Startup Week format: Monday through Friday - Scott describes Denver Startup Week as a free conference running full days all week. FreshBooks trial length: 30-day unrestricted free trial - FreshBooks is promoted with a free trial offer. Coffee machine usage: Almost 9,000 cups - Wes says his Jura Impressa coffee machine has dispensed nearly 9,000 cups. Coffee machine purchase price: $200 - Wes bought the Jura Impressa used on Craigslist for about $200. Coffee machine new price: About $3,000 - Wes says the machine costs around $3,000 new. Commercial coffee unit price: $10,000–$15,000 - Wes mentions finding a commercial model listed in this range. Commercial unit resale price: About $6,000 - He notes a used commercial unit with 6,000 cups was still being sold for around $6,000. Async/await episode number: 28 - Wes references a previous Syntax episode dedicated to async/await. Level Up course library: 300+ pro videos - Wes promotes Level Up Pro as including access to more than 300 pro videos. Yearly subscription discount: 25% - He says users can save 25% by signing up for the year. Breakdancing competition finalists: 16 - Wes’s sick pick is a bracket-style competition featuring the 16 best breakdancers in the world. Breakdancing competition date: September 29 - He says the event takes place on September 29th.

Pivotal Quotes: "I use const by default and then I use let only when I need to redeclare it." — Wes Bos: Discussing modern variable declarations and preferred everyday coding style. "JavaScript waits for no one." — Wes Bos: Explaining why promises are needed for asynchronous operations. "Probably my favorite thing that's been added to JavaScript ever." — Wes Bos: Describing his enthusiasm for async/await.

Implications: Listeners are encouraged to adopt modern JavaScript patterns that reduce boilerplate, improve clarity, and make async code manageable. These features are now core to practical front-end and full-stack development, not optional extras.