A computer program is a list of "instructions" to be "executed" by a computer. In a programming language, these programming instructions are called statements. A JavaScript program is a list of programming statements. In HTML, JavaScript programs are executed by the web browser.

JavaScript Statements

JavaScript statements are composed of: Values, Operators, Expressions, Keywords, and Comments. This statement tells the browser to write "Hello Dolly." inside an HTML element with id="demo":

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Most JavaScript programs contain many JavaScript statements.

The statements are executed, one by one, in the same order as they are written.

Semicolons

Semicolons separate JavaScript statements. Add a semicolon at the end of each executable statement:

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When separated by semicolons, multiple statements on one line are allowed:

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On the web, you might see examples without semicolons.

Ending statements with semicolon is not required, but highly recommended.

JavaScript White Space

JavaScript ignores multiples spaces. You can add white space to your script to make it more readable. The following lines are equivalent:

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A good practice is to put spaces around operators ( = + - * / ):

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JavaScript Line Length and Line Breaks

For best readability, programmers often like to avoid code lines longer than 80 characters. If a JavaScript statement does not fit on one line, the best place to break it is after an operator:

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JavaScript Code Blocks

JavaScript statements can be grouped together in code blocks, inside curly brackets {...}. The purpose of code blocks is to define statements to be executed together. One place you will find statements grouped together in blocks, is in JavaScript functions:

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JavaScript Keywords

JavaScript statements often start with a keyword to identify the JavaScript action to be performed. Our Reserved Words Reference lists all JavaScript keywords.

Here is a list of some of the keywords you will learn about in this tutorial:

Keyword	Description
var	Declares a variable
let	Declares a block variable
const	Declares a block constant
if	Marks a block of statements to be executed on a condition
switch	Marks a block of statements to be executed in different cases
for	Marks a block of statements to be executed in a loop
function	Declares a function
return	Exits a function
try	Implements error handling to a block of statements