Immutable

In object-oriented and functional programming, an immutable object (unchangeable object) is an object whose state cannot be modified after it is created.

In JavaScript, all primitive types (Undefined, Null, Boolean, Number, BigInt, String, Symbol) are immutable, but custom objects are generally mutable.

function doSomething(x) { /* does changing x here change the original? */ };
var str = 'a string';
var obj = { an: 'object' };
doSomething(str);         // strings, numbers and bool types are immutable, function gets a copy
doSomething(obj);         // objects are passed in by reference and are mutable inside function
doAnotherThing(str, obj); // `str` has not changed, but `obj` may have.

To simulate immutability in an object, one may define properties as read-only (writable: false).

var obj = {};
Object.defineProperty(obj, 'foo', { value: 'bar', writable: false });
obj.foo = 'bar2'; // silently ignored

However, the approach above still lets new properties be added. Alternatively, one may use Object.freeze to make existing objects immutable.

var obj = { foo: 'bar' };
Object.freeze(obj);
obj.foo = 'bars'; // cannot edit property, silently ignored
obj.foo2 = 'bar2'; // cannot add property, silently ignored

With the implementation of ECMA262, JavaScript has the ability to create immutable references that cannot be reassigned. However, using a const declaration doesn't mean that value of the read-only reference is immutable, just that the name cannot be assigned to a new value.