Why does JavaScript handle the plus and minus operators between strings and numbers differently?

Question

I don\'t understand why JavaScript works this way.

console.log(\"1\" + 1);
console.log(\"1\" - 1);

The first line prints 11, and the second

Answer 1

There is no dedicated string concatenation operator in JavaScript**. The addition operator + performs either string concatenation or addition, depending on the type of operands:

"1" +  1  // "11"
 1  + "1" // "11"
 1  +  1  // 2

There is no opposite of concatenation (I think) and the subtraction operator - only performs subtraction regardless of the type of operands:

"1" -  1  // 0
 1  - "1" // 0
 1  -  1  // 0
"a" -  1  // NaN

** The . operator in PHP and & operator in VB are dedicated string concatenation operators.