Syntax: Variables

Variables are containers of information and should be declared (i.e. defined) before you use them. Variables can also be initialised when they are declared. To declare and/or initialise a variable use the var statement.

Syntax:

var variableName = value

Remarks:

variableName - is the name you want to give to the variable. The name must begin with a letter but can contain numeric characters. A name cannot contain spaces, use the _ character if you want to space out a variable name e.g. my_first_name.

value – is the contents of the variable.

Advanced:

When var is used inside a function, it makes the variable local to the function. This means that the variable cannot be used outside the function. If a variable is used without a var declaration, the variable is a property of the page and can be used outside the function or in a different function. Unless you specifically want this to happen, it is probably a bad thing to do, and hence var should be used.