# Exponentiation Operator **
I always found the old way of writing an exponentiation expression a bit awkward. Luckily, the exponentiation operator was introduced. This syntax also makes it more similar to other languages (ie. Ruby, Python). Cool 👍
// Old way
const old = Math.pow(3, 7);
// 2187
// ✅ ES7 way
const es7 = 3 ** 7;
// 2187
# Infix Notation
The use of ** is called infix notation. It is characterized by the placement of operators between operands. Other popular infix notations include: + or -.
The reason this syntax was introduced is because:
Infix notation is more succinct than function notation, which makes it more preferable
# Exponentiation in Other Languages
Also, you will notice this syntax is very similar to other languages:
// Python
a ** b;
// Ruby
a ** b;
// Perl
a ** b;
// F#
a ** b;
I actually like that it's similar to other languages. Because it makes picking up JavaScript a lot of easier for those folks and they can be up and running very quickly.
# Assignment Operator
You must have seen arithmetic operator combined with the assignment operator. For example +=:
a += b;
// Same as
// a = a + b
Well, similarly, this can also be done with the exponentiation operator. **=:
a **= b;
// Same as
// a = a ** b
# Negative Base
There's one bit of a gotcha. When you have a negative base, you will have to wrap it around parenthesis.
// ❌ Syntax Error
const wrong = (-3) ** 7;
// ✅
const correct = (-3) ** 7;
However, this isn't an issue if you use the older function way.
const works = Math.pow(-3, 7);
