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The JavaScript Community is Buzzing Over the New Safe Assignment Operator

Said BADAOUI
3 min readDec 24, 2024

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Created by @markusspisk

JavaScript has always been a language of continuous evolution, introducing new features to enhance developer experience and code maintainability. One such exciting proposal gaining traction in the community is the Safe Assignment Operator (?=). Designed to simplify error handling and make code more readable, this operator has developers talking.

Understanding the Safe Assignment Operator (?=)

Traditionally, JavaScript developers have relied on try-catch blocks to handle errors. While effective, these blocks can quickly make code verbose and difficult to follow, especially in complex applications. The Safe Assignment Operator aims to address these challenges by offering a more streamlined approach.

This operator allows functions to return a tuple in the format [error, result]. Here’s how it works:

  • If the function executes successfully, error is null, and result contains the returned value.
  • If an error occurs, error holds the exception, while result is null.

Implementing the Safe Assignment Operator

Let’s compare traditional error handling with the new approach using ?=.

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Said BADAOUI
Said BADAOUI

Written by Said BADAOUI

Full-stack developer & passionate blogger, using technology to bring ideas to life and sharing knowledge through writing. Constantly learning & improving skills

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