JavaScript Comparison Operations Automatic Type Conversions
Example
Beware that numbers can accidentally be converted to strings or NaN (Not a Number).
JavaScript is loosely typed. A variable can contain different data types, and a variable can change its data type:
var x = "Hello"; // typeof x is a string
x = 5; // changes typeof x to a number
When doing mathematical operations, JavaScript can convert numbers to strings:
var x = 5 + 7; // x.valueOf() is 12, typeof x is a number
var x = 5 + "7"; // x.valueOf() is 57, typeof x is a string
var x = "5" + 7; // x.valueOf() is 57, typeof x is a string
var x = 5 - 7; // x.valueOf() is -2, typeof x is a number
var x = 5 - "7"; // x.valueOf() is -2, typeof x is a number
var x = "5" - 7; // x.valueOf() is -2, typeof x is a number
var x = 5 - "x"; // x.valueOf() is NaN, typeof x is a number
Subtracting a string from a string, does not generate an error but returns NaN (Not a Number):
"Hello" - "Dolly" // returns NaN
