Angular Interview Practice

What does the term "syntactic sugar" refer to in the context of programming?

1. A type of code optimization

2. Simpler syntax that does not alter functionality

3. Documentation associated with the code

4. A method of securing application code

The correct answer is: Simpler syntax that does not alter functionality

The term "syntactic sugar" refers to simpler or more expressive syntax that enhances the readability and usability of code without altering its underlying functionality. In programming, syntactic sugar makes complex or verbose aspects of a language more accessible and easier to write, which can lead to cleaner code and a better developer experience. For example, arrow functions in JavaScript are a form of syntactic sugar, as they provide a more concise way to write function expressions. This concept is widely recognized as it allows developers to write code that is more intuitive and easier to understand at a glance, while the actual operations performed by the code remain unchanged. Therefore, when considering how programming constructs can be simplified without loss of expressive power, the notion of syntactic sugar perfectly encapsulates this idea.