What are the differences between first-class vs higher-order functions in JavaScript?

It's easy to see that functions are an important part of JavaScript. In fact, functions are so important that they have their own keyword: function. Functions are objects that take one or more arguments. When a function is called, the JavaScript engine creates a new execution context for that function.

There are two types of functions in JavaScript:

• first-class functions
• and higher-order functions.

First-class functions are functions that can be assigned to variables, passed as arguments, and returned from functions.

Higher-order functions are functions that take one or more functions as arguments or return a function as the result.

Let's take a look at an example of a higher-order function.

The map() function is a higher-order function that takes a function as an argument. The map() function applies the function to every item in an array, and returns a new array with the results.

Here's an example of how to use the map() function:

var numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5];

var doubled = numbers.map(function(number) {
	return number * 2;
});

console.log(doubled);

The output of the code will be: [2, 4, 6, 8, 10].

As you can see, the map() function takes a function as an argument, and applies it to every item in the array. It then returns a new array with the results.

The map() function is a useful function for performing operations on arrays. You can use it to filter arrays, create arrays of arrays, and more.

JavaScript also includes a number of higher-order functions built-in, such as map() and reduce(). You can also create your own higher-order functions if you need more flexibility.

Higher-order functions are an important part of JavaScript, and can be used to perform a variety of tasks. They're a great way to abstract away complex code, and make your code more readable and maintainable.

What about first-class functions?

The first time a function is called, it is assigned to the variable "fn" in the global namespace.

function fn() {
console.log("fn called");
}

And then you can call it like this:

fn();

This is a first-class function.

First-class functions are functions that are assigned to variables and can be passed around like any other variable. In JavaScript, first-class functions are created when a function is defined with the "function" keyword.

function fn() {
	console.log("fn called");
}

var callback = fn();

callback();

In the example above, "callback" is a first-class function that references the function "fn". First-class functions can also be returned from other functions, as shown here:

function getCallback() {
	return fn;
}

var callback = getCallback();
callback();

In this example, "callback" is a first-class function that references the function "fn". First-class functions can also be stored in arrays and objects.

var callbackList = [];
callbackList.push(fn);
callbackList.push(callback);

In the example above, "callbackList" is an array that stores two first-class functions. First-class functions can also be used as callbacks.

function callback() {
	console.log("callback called");
}

var fn = function() {
	console.log("fn called");
};

callback();
fn();