Template Literals

[00:00] So let's get started with this. We're gonna log the answer is 42, but we wanna use a template literal that uses an expression. So here we're gonna have it be 40 plus two, and we're gonna interpolate that in our template literal. So here we say console log with a back tick that starts our string, and then inside of here is the string. And then we have this special dollar sign curly brace.

[00:25] That is special syntax that says, hey. I'm not a string anymore. I am an expression. And that expression for us is 40 plus two. And then, we close that expression with a closing curly brace.

[00:37] And then we could have more string stuff here, but, yeah, maybe we'll we'll throw an exclamation point in there just for the fun of it. And, and then we close with that closing back tick. And we also, can do hello typescript using a template literal. So you don't have to have interpolation. It still works as a regular string.

[00:56] And here we can do, additional math stuff. 10 times five equals 10 times five. Tada. And if those were variables, you could, interpolate variables in there and stuff. We'll get into variables later.

[01:09] But this, gives you an idea. And here we can do quotes, hello, TypeScript, or, hello, TypeScript with a single quote. Now you don't have to worry about it. Although, you do have the other problem. Now what if I wanted to actually show a backtick in my output?

[01:24] Well, you can actually escape that as well. So now you can have backticks, but we don't use backticks quite as much. And so, it is nice to be able to just use the backtick. The other cool thing you can do with this is multi lines. So ta da.

[01:39] We've got multi lines here. Let's run that. And there it is. Everything between this opening back tick and the closing one is included in the string. That includes not only these new line characters, but also, if you can tell, these tab characters as well.

[01:53] And so, though it's kinda hard to see in this output, but, yeah, those tab characters are also present. And we can say whatever and boom, there it is. And that works just nicely. So, you get new lines. You get interpolation.

[02:10] So you don't have to worry about concatenation as much. You don't have to worry about, escaping single quote or double quote. So template literals, they're pretty cool. And there's really no problem, which is using them anywhere everywhere. I personally don't like doing that.

[02:28] Just maybe old habits die hard. I'm, been doing this a long time, and, I just prefer using SQL quotes when I can. So that's what I do. But, yeah, if you wanna use backticks, I cannot stop you. I I can't argue against you either.

[02:42] It's be a perfectly fine way to develop software. You will probably, as you're generating, your code with AI and reviewing it, most of the time, the AI is probably going to use either single or double quotes and only use, template literals when that's necessary. There's also, another feature of template literals that gets a little bit more advanced than we're going to get in, into here, but, you might see it sometimes. You'll see, like, SQL that shows up right before the back tick, or you might see a, fetch or a, get or something like that. This is actually a special type of function that takes the template literal in, and its interpolated values as special arguments.

[03:26] Like I said, pretty advanced TypeScript and and JavaScript related stuff there, so we're not going to get into that. But, yeah, it is kind of an interesting thing. So if you ever see something like that, you can know, oh, that's a special feature of template literals, and then you can go look up, like, what is that thing? So So that's called a tagged template literal. So you can go look that up later if you're interested.

[03:47] And with that, I think you know what you need to know about template literals. Good job.

[00:00] Alright. You remember how we were doing all of that escaping and for new lines and parentheses or or and apostrophes and all of that stuff? Well, there's an easier way to write those kinds of strings, and it's called template literals. And one of the cool things about template literals is it also simplifies concatenation of stuff as well because it has this special syntax for what we call interpolation, which is a dollar sign and two curly braces, and everything inside of there is actually just JavaScript. So that is cool.

[00:31] We're going to be using template literals. This is with a back tick, and it's going to simplify a whole bunch of stuff for us on doing multiline strings and quotes and all of that stuff. So go ahead and run with that. Have a good time with it, and we'll see you when you're done.

Learning to program can feel overwhelming. There are countless tutorials, boot camps, and YouTube videos all pulling you in different directions, and most of them assume you already know something.

The result? Gaps in your understanding that haunt you for years. You memorize syntax without understanding what it means. You copy-paste code that works but can't explain why. When something breaks, you're stuck because you never built the mental model to reason about what's happening underneath.

The Programming Foundations Workshop is your ground-zero start to becoming a software developer. Built with TypeScript from the very first line, it takes you from zero prior programming experience through expressions, variables, types, functions, and beyond-- equipping you with the foundational knowledge that every concept in web development builds on.

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## Expressions & Output

Every program needs a way to tell you what it's doing. Without output, you're flying blind-- writing code with no way to verify it works. This is the very first skill you need as a developer.

In this section, you'll get your programs talking back to you while learning the building blocks of every piece of code you'll ever write:

- Outputting values with `console.log`
- String expressions and concatenation
- Number expressions and arithmetic operators
- Escaping special characters in strings
- Template literals with interpolation and multiline support

## Variables

Hardcoded values can only get you so far. Real programs need to store, reference, and update data as they run. Without a solid understanding of how variables work, you'll constantly be confused by unexpected behavior.

Variables are foundational to every program you'll ever write. Here you'll learn how to declare them, when to use each type, and a critical nuance that trips up even experienced developers:

- Declaring variables with `let` and `const`
- Naming conventions and casing (camelCase, SCREAMING_SNAKE_CASE)
- Reassigning values with `let` and compound operators like `+=`
- The important distinction between reassignment and mutation
- Why `const` doesn't always mean the value can't change

## Primitive Types

JavaScript has types whether you think about them or not. Every value in every variable carries a type, and ignoring that fact leads to bugs that are hard to track down. TypeScript makes these types explicit, catching entire categories of errors before your code ever runs.

This section introduces you to all seven primitive types and how TypeScript helps you work with them safely:

- Explicit type annotations with `number`, `string`, and `boolean`
- The difference between `null` and `undefined`
- Special types: `bigint` for arbitrarily large numbers and `symbol` for unique identifiers
- Type coercion and why it can surprise you
- Floating-point precision and practical considerations for working with numbers

## Comparisons & Boolean Logic

Making decisions is at the heart of every program. Should this button be enabled? Does this user have access? Is the cart empty? All of these questions boil down to comparisons and boolean logic.

Getting comparisons wrong leads to subtle bugs that are painful to debug. This section gives you the tools to write conditions that behave exactly as you'd expect:

- Loose equality (`==`) vs. strict equality (`===`) and why you should almost always use strict
- Not-equal, greater-than, and less-than-or-equal-to operators
- Combining conditions with logical AND (`&&`), OR (`||`), and NOT (`!`)
- Order of operations with logical operators
- Using parentheses to make complex conditions explicit

## Truthiness & Falsiness

JavaScript has a unique feature where every value has an inherent "truthiness" or "falsiness." This isn't a bug-- it's one of the most practical features of the language once you understand it. But misunderstanding it leads to some of the most confusing behavior new developers encounter.

Here you'll learn which values are truthy, which are falsy, and how to use this knowledge to write cleaner conditional logic:

- Coercing values to booleans with the `Boolean` constructor
- The double-not (`!!`) operator and when to use it
- Falsy values: `0`, `""`, `null`, `undefined`, `false`, and `NaN`
- Practical patterns like checking array length and optional values
- Avoiding common pitfalls with logical operators and coercion

## Functions

Up to this point, your programs run top to bottom and that's it. Functions change everything. They let you take a chunk of code, put it somewhere reusable, and call it from anywhere-- with different inputs each time.

Functions are the single most important building block for organizing and scaling your programs. This section takes you from writing your first function through passing functions as arguments to other functions:

- Function declarations with the `function` keyword
- Accepting parameters and specifying their types
- Return values and TypeScript's return type inference
- Arrow functions and implicit returns
- Passing functions as arguments to other functions
- Documenting your functions with JSDoc

## Type Inference & Arrow Functions

TypeScript is smart. You don't have to type everything explicitly-- TypeScript can often figure out the types for you by looking at your code. Knowing when to lean on inference and when to be explicit is a skill that makes your code cleaner and your development faster.

This section also covers arrow functions, a concise alternative syntax you'll see everywhere in modern JavaScript and TypeScript:

- How TypeScript infers return types from your function body
- When explicit return types help catch bugs earlier
- Converting function declarations to arrow functions
- Implicit returns for single-expression functions
- The hoisting difference between declarations and expressions
- Function expressions as first-class values

## Void & Never

Not every function returns something useful, and some code paths should never be reached. TypeScript has dedicated types for both of these situations, and understanding them helps you write more precise, self-documenting code.

This section introduces two TypeScript-specific concepts that complete your understanding of the type system's fundamentals:

- The `void` type for functions that don't return a value
- How `void` relates to `undefined` in practice
- The `never` type for functions that throw errors or never return
- Using `never` to enforce exhaustive checks
- Throwing errors to halt execution and signal failures
- Practical patterns for input validation with error throwing

Programming Foundations

Structured Data

Type Safety

Object Oriented TypeScript

Advanced TypeScript

Practical TypeScript: Foundations to Fluency

Master programming basics with our Introduction to Programming Foundations. Perfect for beginners eager to start coding and build essential skills.

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Intro to Expressions And Output

Hello World

Escaping Strings

Strings

Numbers

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Loops

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Nested Loops

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Ternary Operator

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4. Control Flow

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Template Literals

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