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2020-10-08 19:41:01 +00:00
---
title: A better Hello World
tags: [Software Development]
style: fill
color: dark
description: A different “hello world” to demonstrate language features better.
---
Source: [RICO STA. CRUZ](https://ricostacruz.com/til/a-better-hello-world)
The “Hello world” program is usually the first introduction to any programming language. It looks like this in the C programming language:
```c
/* hello.c */
#import <stdio.h>
int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
printf("Hello, world!");
return 0;
}
```
It demonstrates the minimum amount you need to write a C program. In more modern languages however, this example isnt as useful anymore. Heres the same example in Python:
```python
# hello.py
print "Hello, world!"
```
## A better hello world
In todays world of more succint programming languages, we need a different “hello world” to demonstrate language features better. Heres what I propose:
```
// hello.js
function getGreeting (name) {
return `Hello, ${name}!`
}
const message = getGreeting('world')
console.log(message)
```
This simple example demonstrates a few more things than printing strings:
- How to write a function with an argument
- Returning values from functions
- How to use variables
- The naming convention for functions (camelCase versus snake_case)
- String concatenation
- Comments