ES6 and Arrow Functions – Node.js Basics Part 3

So, the ES6 feature of arrow functions is not unique to Node.js, but they will be helpful to know as a more concise alternative to a regular function if you’re not already family with them. Both standard and shorthand arrow functions exist.

An ES5 function is compared with a standard ES6 arrow function below:

Both will produce a result of 8 with console.log(double(4))

Another feature of the arrow function is its shorthand syntax. Simple functions that take in an argument and immediately produce a result like the one above can use this shorthand form in order to be cleaner and more concise.

In this case, the curly braces and the return keyword are not necessary.

This shorthand syntax is used for simple rather than complex functions. For example, an if-statement would require the longer form of the arrow function.

Arrow functions are not a good choice when its comes to methods. That is, when they are used as properties on an object when we want to access “this”. For example “this.name” in the below examples. Arrow functions do not bind their own “this” value.

ES5 format:

team.printTeamMembers()

We can, however, use an ES6 shorthand method syntax in this case: 

Hope that’s helpful! Happy coding 🙂