Javascript:Void(0); Vs Javascript:;

Question

I recently saw href='javascript:;'. What's the difference between:

<a href='javascript:;'

vs:

<a href='javascript:void(0);'

When to use first one, and when to use second?

Does this answer your question? [What does "javascript:void(0)" mean?](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/1291942/what-does-javascriptvoid0-mean) — Kamuran Sönecek, Jul 23 '20 at 14:03
@KamuranSönecek i know what `javascript:void(0)` means. i'm asking about how it's different from `javascript:;` — yaya, Jul 23 '20 at 14:07

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered Jul 23 '20 at 13:57

2

One is a JavaScript program with no statements which resolves as undefined, the other uses void to explicitly resolve as undefined. There is little to choose between them.

Never use either.

Only use a link if you are going to link to somewhere.

If you want a UI control that people can click on to trigger some JavaScript, use a <button type="button">.

answered Jul 23 '20 at 13:57

Quentin

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I once had a heated debate with a designer about the semantic differences between buttons and links. - (cool story bro) – evolutionxbox Jul 23 '20 at 13:58
@Quentin Is there any special reason for not using it? (sometimes using an tag is easier to style and it's more semantical. for example currently i'm reading a code that has this tag in
, and it overrides the links behavior with `javascript:void(0)` to navigate manually with code. )
– yaya Jul 23 '20 at 14:05
1

@yaya — The purpose of a link is to link somewhere. The semantics of it are explicitly about linking somewhere. If you aren't linking then the semantics are wrong. – Quentin Jul 23 '20 at 14:06
@Quentin yeah but isn't it better to put some tags in
? cause `
` sounds abit odd... doesn't search engines expect such tags? (links inside of nav)
– yaya Jul 23 '20 at 14:09
1

@yaya — No, it absolutely is not. You might find a button inside a navigation section to be odd, but it is much less odd than a link which doesn't link anywhere. Search engines definitely do not expect to have a link which doesn't link anywhere. – Quentin Jul 23 '20 at 14:10
@Quentin thanks. maybe we just got used to it because we see it a lot in codes. but i agree, semantically we're better to use buttons. – yaya Jul 23 '20 at 14:13

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Jul 23 '20 at 13:57

2

There is no practical difference. Both result in the expression evaluating to undefined.

void / void() is just a shortcut to get to undefined, as is an empty expression terminating with an immediate semicolon.

answered Jul 23 '20 at 13:57

Mitya

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Javascript:Void(0); Vs Javascript:;

2 Answers2