How to Instruct a Computer

Let's write some code to make the computer perform simple calculations and display the results!

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const a = 1;
const b = 2;
const c = 3;

console.log((a + c) * b);

Here, console.log is a function that displays values on the screen, showing whatever value is passed within the parentheses.

const is a keyword that defines a constant value which does not change during the execution of the program. In const a = 1, we are assigning the value of 1 to a constant a.

In this context, a keyword is a term with a special meaning in JavaScript that users cannot use as variable names, and = is the operator used to assign values to constants.

In programming, the = operator is used not to signify "equals," as learned in math class, but instead to mean "assign the value on the right to the left."

Similarly, we assign the value 2 to constant b, and 3 to constant c.

In (a + c) * b, the asterisk (*) represents multiplication.

As a reference, division in programming languages uses a slash (/).

Thus, the result of multiplying the summed value of a and c by b, which is 4 * 2 = 8, is passed to console.log.

console.log is a function that outputs the value passed within its parentheses. Without console.log, the result of the operation (a + c) * b would not be displayed on the screen.

Simple, isn't it?

We successfully instructed the computer to perform a simple calculation and output task using JavaScript!

In the next lesson, we'll learn about adding simple comments to JavaScript code.