javascript - What is the difference between return and return()?

Question

function a() { return 1; }
function b() { return(1); }

I tested the above code in Chrome's console, and both returned 1.

function c() { return "1"; }
function d() { return("1"); }

I also tested the code above, and both of the functions returned "1".

So what is the difference between using return and return()?

Answer 1

The same as between

var i = 1 + 1;

and

var i = (1 + 1);

That is, nothing. The parentheses are allowed because they are allowed in any expression to influence evaluation order, but in your examples they're just superfluous.

return is not a function, but a statement. It is syntactically similar to other simple control flow statements like break and continue that don't use parentheses either.