EcmaScript 6 Features 1: String Interpolations

Welcome to a new series of short posts on the new features of EcmaScript 6. EcmaScript is the technical name for Javascript - and currently I have been writing in version 5. Since version 6 is gaining support quickly, I think it is time that I learnt about all the new features.

This series will be conducted using the latest version of io.js. I will not be investigating features that don't have support in io.js.

First up: String Interpolation. This is just a fancy name for inserting the contents of variables into strings. PHP has this already:

<?php
$total = 456;
echo("Total: $total");
?>

Results in:

Total: 456

Now this is coming to Javascript. If you use the %60 (back-tick) character to open and close your strings, you can insert the values of things into a string with ${}:

var name = "Orange";

console.log(`Name: ${name}`);

Outputs:

Name: Orange

You can also use this to pull the values from an object, too. I have recorded a demo with asciinema:

I have also written a test for your browser:

Next up will probably be generators (which are really cool by the way). These posts will also be the first to stick to a (semi) formal schedule: A new one will come out every Tuesday.