Varry var var

John Schulz turned me on to the code style of using var for every variable. This goes against most other code styles (see learn.jquery.com and Idiomatic JavaScript), which advise using one var, and listing following variables with commas.

// typically recommend
var firstName = 'Ryan',
    lastName = 'Gosling',
    age = 31,
    isAlive = true;

// multiple vars
var firstName = 'Ryan';
var lastName = 'Gosling';
var age = 31;
var isAlive = true;

At first I gawked at this style, but after using it for two months, I’m sticking with it. Using multiple vars have a couple benefits:

  • Easier to add more variables, no need to change any trailing comma or semi-colon.
  • Eliminates unnecessary git commit diffs, where a line has changed only because you changed a trailing semi-colon or comma.
  • Easier to read (IMO). var is a reserved keyword, so it jumps out when syntax highlighted.
  • Eliminates awkward tab spacing underneath the var. It only lines up if your tabs are 4 spaces wide.
  • [Per JFSIII] Helps collaboration, other devs might miss the change of semi-colon and accidentally add a global variable.

If you’re worried about bloating your code with all the superfluous vars, that should be taken care of when using a proper minifier.