Scoping
Scoping is a fundamental programming concept that defines the visibility and lifetime of variables, functions, and other identifiers within a codebase. It determines where in a program a particular name can be accessed and how long it persists in memory. Proper scoping helps prevent naming conflicts, manage memory efficiently, and enforce data encapsulation.
Developers should master scoping to write clean, maintainable, and bug-free code, as it directly impacts variable accessibility and memory management. It is essential when working with functions, closures, modules, or object-oriented programming to avoid unintended side effects and ensure data privacy. Understanding scoping is critical in languages like JavaScript, Python, or Java to handle global vs. local variables effectively.