object destructuring without var

Question

Why does object destructuring throw an error if there is no var keyword in front of it?

{a, b} = {a: 1, b: 2};

throws Sy

Answer 1

If you write Javascript without semicolons, then the 'assignment without declaration' syntax should be preceded with a semicolon for it to work predictably

let a, b

;({a, b} = objectReturningFunction()) // <-- note the preceding ;

Just wanted to highlight this as it caught me out, and hopefully can save others some time figuring out why it doesn't work and/or produces weird results with code formatters like prettier.

Indeed, it's actually right there in the accepted answer (last line of the quoted docs) but easy to miss, especially without seeing an example!