Every JavaScript developer must know what a closure is. During a JavaScript coding interview theres a good chance youll get asked about the concept of closures.
To answer the questions, get a pencil and paper and try not to look at the answers or run the code. In my estimation, you would need about 30 minutes.
If you need a refresh on closures, I recommend checking the post A Simple Explanation of JavaScript Closures.
Hey there, fellow JavaScript enthusiasts!
Are you getting ready for an important JavaScript interview? Are you worried about the tough closing questions? Don’t be! We’ve got you covered with this complete list of the best JavaScript closing questions and answers.
This guide is your ultimate weapon to ace those technical interviews and land your dream job. We’ve meticulously curated a collection of essential closure questions, along with clear and concise explanations, to help you solidify your understanding and impress your interviewers.
Buckle up. grab a cup of your favorite brew and let’s dive into the world of closures!
What are Closures?
Before we delve into the questions, let’s quickly refresh our memory on what closures are all about In essence, a closure is a function’s ability to retain access to the variables in its surrounding scope, even after the outer function has completed its execution. This remarkable feature empowers inner functions to manipulate and utilize the variables of their parent functions, regardless of their execution context
Think of it like this Imagine a superhero’s secret lair. The lair (closure) holds all the superhero’s gadgets and tools (variables) and only the superhero (inner function) has the key to access them. Even when the superhero leaves the lair (outer function completes), the key remains allowing them to return and utilize the tools whenever needed.
Intrigued? Let’s explore some key closure interview questions and answers!
Top JavaScript Closure Interview Questions and Answers
1. What is a closure?
Answer A closure is an inner function’s ability to access the variables of its enclosing function, even after the outer function has finished executing It’s like a secret handshake between the inner and outer functions, allowing them to share information even when they’re not directly connected
2 Why are closures important in JavaScript?
Answer: Closures are crucial in JavaScript because they enable us to achieve data privacy and encapsulation. They allow us to create private variables and methods within functions, safeguarding them from external modification. This promotes cleaner code organization and prevents accidental data manipulation.
3. Can you provide an example of a closure in JavaScript?
Answer: Absolutely! Let’s consider this code snippet:
function outerFunction() { var outerVariable = "Hello, "; function innerFunction(name) { console.log(outerVariable + name); } return innerFunction;}var inner = outerFunction();inner("John"); // Output: "Hello, John"
In this example, innerFunction
is a closure because it has access to the outerVariable
defined within outerFunction
. Even after outerFunction
finishes, innerFunction
can still access and utilize outerVariable
.
4. How do you create a closure in JavaScript?
Answer: Creating a closure in JavaScript is as simple as defining a function inside another function and returning the inner function. Here’s an illustration:
function createCounter() { var count = 0; function counter() { count++; console.log(count); } return counter;}var increment = createCounter();increment(); // Output: 1increment(); // Output: 2increment(); // Output: 3
In this scenario, createCounter
returns the counter
function, which maintains a persistent count variable. Each time increment
is called, the count is incremented and displayed.
5. How do you use a closure in JavaScript?
Answer: Utilizing closures in JavaScript involves defining a function within another function and employing the inner function to access the outer function’s variables and parameters. You can also return the inner function to make the closure available for use elsewhere in your code. Let’s illustrate this with an example:
function createMultiplier(factor) { return function(number) { return number * factor; };}var double = createMultiplier(2);var triple = createMultiplier(3);console.log(double(5)); // Output: 10console.log(triple(5)); // Output: 15
In this example, createMultiplier
generates functions that multiply a number by the provided factor. double
and triple
are closures that retain their respective factors, allowing them to perform multiplication on demand.
6. What will be the output of the following code?
function outer() { var x = 10; function inner() { console.log(x); } return inner;}var innerFunc = outer();innerFunc();
Answer: The output will be 10. This is because the inner function has access to the x
variable declared in the outer function’s scope, and that variable holds the value 10. When innerFunc
is invoked, it logs the value of x
, which is 10.
7. What will be the output of the following code?
function outer() { var x = 10; function inner() { console.log(x); } x = 20; return inner;}var innerFunc = outer();innerFunc();
Answer: The output will be 20. This is because the inner function has access to the x
variable in the outer function’s scope, and that variable is assigned the value of 20 before the inner function is returned. When innerFunc
is invoked, it logs the current value of x
, which is 20.
8. What will be the output of the following code?
function outer() { var x = 10; function inner() { var y = 5; console.log(x + y); } return inner;}var innerFunc = outer();innerFunc();
Answer: The output will be 15. This is because the inner function has access to both the x
variable declared in the outer function’s scope and the y
variable declared within the inner function’s scope. When innerFunc
is invoked, it logs the sum of x
and y
, which is 15.
9. What will be the output of the following code?
function outer() { var x = 10; function inner() { var y = 5; console.log(x + y); } var x = 20; return inner;}var innerFunc = outer();innerFunc();
Answer: The output will be 25. This is because the inner function has access to the x
variable declared in the outer function’s scope, which is reassigned the value of 20 before the inner function is returned. When innerFunc
is invoked, it logs the sum of the current value of x
and y
, which is 25.
10. What will be the output of the following code?
function outer() { var x = 10; function inner() { var y = 5; console.log(x + y); x = 20; } return inner;}var innerFunc = outer();innerFunc();innerFunc();
Answer: The output will be 15 and 25. This is because the inner function has access to the x
variable declared in the outer function’s scope, which is initially assigned the value of 10. When innerFunc
is invoked for the first time, it logs the sum of x
and y
, which is 15, and then reassigns the value of x
to 20. When innerFunc
is invoked for the second time, it logs the sum of the new value of x
and y
, which is 25.
Congratulations! You’ve now equipped yourself with the knowledge and understanding to tackle those closure interview questions with confidence. Remember, practice makes perfect, so keep experimenting with closures and exploring their potential in your JavaScript projects.
Bonus Tip: To further enhance your preparation, check out these additional resources:
- Coderbyte’s 3 Common JavaScript Closure Questions: https://coderbyte.com/algorithm/3-common-javascript-closure-questions
- Testbook’s Top 10 JavaScript Closure Interview Question With Answers in 2023: https://testbook.com/interview/javascript-closure-interview-question
Best of luck in your JavaScript interview!
Questions 1: Closures raise your hand
Consider the following functions clickHandler
, immediate
, and delayedReload
:
Which of these 3 functions access outer scope variables? Expand answer
clickHandler
accesses the variablecountClicks
from the outer scope.immediate
doesnt access any variables from the outer scope.- The global scope (also called the outermost scope) is where delayedReload gets to the global variable location.
Questions 3: Who’s who
What will log to console the following code snippet:
1
and 0
is logged to the console. Open the demo.
The first statement let count = 0
declares a variable count
.
immediate() is a closure that captures the count variable from the outer scope. Inside of the immediate() function scope count is 0.
But inside the if statement, another let count = 1 statement creates a local variable count that replaces the count variable from outside the scope. The first console. log(count) logs 1.
The second console.log(count)
logs 0
, since here count
variable is accessed from the outer scope.
Closures Explained in 100 Seconds // Tricky JavaScript Interview Prep
FAQ
What are closure interview questions?
What are the closed questions in an interview?
What are closures explain with an example?
What are situational interview questions?