Topic awaiting preservation: Which method is optimal

I was just reading that JScript processes variable declarations before executing any code. So which construct is optimal?

This -

if (sometest) {
var i=foo;
var j=bar;
do stuff with these vars
}
else {
var x=foobar;
var y=barfoo;
do something else with these vars
}


or this -

var i=foo;
var j=bar;
var x=foobar;
var y=barfoo;
if (sometest) {
do stuff
}
else {
do something else
}


????

It only seems logical that declaring variables at the head of the script would be better.

I agree, mate.
I have never saw declaring inside.


Hiroki Kozai

I agree, variable declarations should be done prior to anything else, unless the logic of your code requires otherwise.

There's probably no difference at all in speed between the two constructs. Of course, it might depend on the individual browser. But even if there is a difference, you'll never notice it.

Thanks fellas. I moved all my var declarations to the beginning of the script I'm working on and what I didn't move I converted to local vars by creating a few new functions. I did note a slight speed boost but it is a rather large script with a lot of vars. On a normal sized script I probably couldn't tell any difference.