10 JavaScript tricks for beginners

JavaScript powers the modern web. Whether you are just starting out or already have some experience, these 10 tricks will help you write cleaner, safer code.

Trick 1: destructuring. Instead of const name = user.name, write const { name, email } = user. It saves time and improves readability. Trick 2: optional chaining. user?.address?.city safely reaches nested properties without throwing when something is undefined.

Trick 3: template literals. Backticks let you embed variables in strings: `Hello ${name}!`. Trick 4: the spread operator. Copy arrays and objects in one line: const newArr = [...oldArr, newItem]. Trick 5: array methods. map(), filter() and reduce() replace most loops: users.filter(u => u.active).map(u => u.name).

Trick 6: async/await. Forget callback hell and write asynchronous code like synchronous code, with try/catch for errors. Trick 7: the ?? operator (nullish coalescing). const port = config.port ?? 3000 falls back to 3000 only for null or undefined, not for 0 or an empty string as || does. Trick 8: Promise.all. Run independent requests in parallel instead of one after another.

const { name, email } = user;
const city = user?.address?.city ?? 'Unknown';
const greeting = `Hello ${name}!`;
const next = [...oldArr, newItem];
const names = users.filter(u => u.active).map(u => u.name);
const [a, b] = await Promise.all([getA(), getB()]);
const unique = [...new Set(list)];
const copy = structuredClone(obj);

Trick 9: Set for unique values: const unique = [...new Set(list)]. Trick 10: Object.entries and for...of for readable iteration over objects, and structuredClone(obj) for a true deep copy. These tricks are only the beginning. At Nettivo we use them daily to build fast, readable and maintainable web applications: nettivo.no/kontakt.