I have read this answer and IIFE but I can't seem to find the correct solution to my problem.
I have a simple class here:
define(['jquery'], function($) {
// Need 'self' because someCallback() is being called with .call() and 'this' changes
var self;
function Foo(number) {
self = this;
this.someNumber = number;
}
Foo.prototype = {
someCallback: function () {
//Use self because 'this' changes to a DOM element
var num = self.someNumber;
//Do something with the num
return num * 2;
}
};
return Foo;
});
and someCallBack() is being called by a jQuery plugin using .call(). Because of this, the context changed, hence the use of the self variable.
However, this is wrong because:
define(['foo'], function(Foo) {
describe('context question', function () {
var foo1 = new Foo(1);
var foo2 = new Foo(2);
it('"this" should work', function () {
var call1 = foo1.someCallback.call(this); // 4
var call2 = foo2.someCallback.call(this); // 4
expect(call2).toBe(4); // Only works because it is 'new' last
expect(call1).toBe(2); // Fails because 'self' is taken from foo2
});
});
});
How exactly should I wrap the self variable to make this code work?
You could probably just use the revealing module pattern and declare it as a "global" variable (local to the module):
define(['jquery'], function($) {
var someNumber;
function Foo(number) {
someNumber = number;
}
Foo.prototype = {
someCallback: function () {
return someNumber * 2;
}
};
return Foo;
});
Two ways of calling an object method which stores its own this value include
Define the method as a nested function which references its this value in a closure which stores this value in a variable. The function defined could be anonymous or declared with a name but must be evaluated each time a class instance is created, so as to create a new Function object capturing different values of self in function scope.
Take a statically defined function object and bind its this value using bind. Bind creates a new wrapper function object each time it is called.
The first method looks like (without Jquery or Jasmine):
function Foo(number)
{ var self = this;
this.num = number;
this.someCallback = function() // method with new Foo object stored as self in function scope
{ // something with num:
return self.num * 2;
}
}
and the second method could look like
function Foo(number)
{ this.num = number
this.someCallback = this.someCallback.bind(this); // bind prototypical method as local method.
}
Foo.prototype = {
someCallback: function () {
// this value is bound by constructor;
//Do something with the num
return this.num * 2;
}
};
Related
A strange problems about javascript prototype :
(function(w){
if(!w)
return;
var TestJS = function(){
};
TestJS.prototype = {
data:{},
initData:function(){
this.data={
val_name_1 : 1,
val_name_2 : 2,
val_name_3 : "hello-3"
};
console.log(this.data);
return this;
},
TestChildJS:{
initChild:function(){
console.log(TestJS);
console.log(TestJS.data);
console.log(new TestJS().data.val_name_1);
console.log(TestJS.data.val_name_1);
}
}
};
window.TestJS = new TestJS();
})(window);
why 'TestChildJS' can not get 'val_name_1'?
TestJS.initData();
console.log(TestJS.TestChildJS.initChild());
console pic
so I have to write my code like that:
(function(w){
if(!w)
return;
var TestJS = function(){
};
TestJS.prototype = {
data:{},
initData:function(){
this.data={
val_name_1 : 1,
val_name_2 : 2,
val_name_3 : "hello-3"
};
console.log(this.data);
this.TestChildJS.initParentData(this);
return this;
},
TestChildJS:{
parentData:{},
initParentData:function(parent){
this.parentData = parent.data;
return this;
},
initChild:function(){
console.log(this.parentData);
}
}
};
window.TestJS = new TestJS();
})(window);
How to use the first way can get the content of the second way?
why 'TestChildJS' can not get 'val_name_1'?
when:
TestJS.initData();
is run, it adds a data property to the TestJS object (the one assigned by window.TestJS = new TestJS()). That property isn't inherited by any other object.
When:
console.log(new TestJS().data.val_name_1);
is run, the object returned by new TestJS() has not had it's initData method called yet, so it doesn't have a data property and it doesn't inherit it from the constructor (because the property is directly on the constructor itself, not its prototype).
Note also that assigning a new object to this.data creates a property directly on the instance, so adding to this.data is modifying the instance's data object, not the one on the constructor's prototype.
The patterns in your code (especially the second one) seem unnecessarily convoluted.
It has to do with the scope of the IIFE. A variable declared inside a closure shadows any outer variable with the same name. Since after the IIFE executes you no longer have access to its scope, TempJS inside it will always be a function constructor -- not an instantiated object.
Consider this example:
var i;
var func = (function(){
i = 1;
return function() {
console.log(i)
};
})();
func(i); // 1
i = 2;
func(i); // 2
If I re-declare the i variable inside the closure, look what happens:
var i = 1;
var func = (function(){
var i = 1;
return function() {
console.log(i)
};
})();
func(i); // 1
i = 2;
func(i); // 1
So one solution to your problem would be to declare TestJS once before the IIFE.
var TestJS;
(function(w){
if(!w)
return;
TestJS = function(){
};
// ...
TestChildJS:{
initChild:function(){
console.log(TestJS.data.val_name_1);
}
// ...
window.TestJS = new TestJS();
})(window);
TestJS.initData();
console.log(TestJS.TestChildJS.initChild()); // 1
Notice that I removed console.log(new TestJS().data.val_name_1);. TestJS is no longer a constructor function, so that line will throw.
Another solution is to assign the empty function expression to window.TestJS inside the closure, instead of var TestJS. Doing so will not create a local TestJS name and will therefore prevent the ambiguity.
I have a class-like function
var myapp = function() {
this.method = function() {
//Do something...
}
}
To reference myapp from within methods, the first line in the myapp function is
var self = this;
So a method in myapp can reference the "class" safely
this.anothermethod = function() {
self.method();
}
The full code:
var myapp = function() {
var self = this;
this.dosomething = function(Callback) {
Callback();
}
this.anothermethod = function() {
//Pass a callback ("self" is required here)...
this.dosomething(function() {
self.complete();
)};
}
this.complete = function() {
console.log('All done!');
}
}
My question is: can I assign var self = this; from outside the declaration of myapp? I don't want to set self every single time I write a "class".
Kind of like this:
var library = function() {
this.loadclass = function(Name) {
var tempclass = window[Name];
library[Name] = new tempclass();
library[Name].self = library[Name];
}
}
var myapp = new library();
myapp.loadclass('myapp');
myapp.myapp.dosomething();
It doesn't work as expected. self equals window for some reason.
I know it's a little abnormal programming, but can it be done?
Note about using self: I remember why I started using it. I wanted to reference the base class (this) from within callbacks inside methods. As soon as you try to use this within a function within a method, it then references the method, not the base class.
Unless you are detaching the methods from the object and calling them as plain functions, you don't need a self variable at all. The method can reach its object using the this keyword:
var myapp = function() {
this.method = function() {
//Do something...
}
this.anothermethod = function() {
this.method();
}
}
No, you can't really; not the way you're creating objects at least.
You can sort of do this, by enumerating all the functions on the object and binding them to the object itself. Something like this:
Object.keys(obj)
.filter(function(n) { return typeof obj[n] == "function" })
.forEach(function(n) { obj[n] = obj[n].bind(obj) })
This function will go over the public, enumerable properties of obj and make sure that any functions on it are bound to obj; i.e. this is now bound to obj.
A primer on this
When you call new, this within the constructor gets bound to the newly created object. If you do need a reference to this as it was bound at constructor time, you do need to keep away a reference to it.
Functions in JavaScript are bound to wherever it is called. Here's an example:
var foo = new function() {
this.bar = function() {
return 'bar'
}
this.baz = function() {
return this.bar()
}
}
console.log(foo.bar()) // bar
console.log(foo.baz()) // bar
var bar = function() {
return "window"
}
var baz = foo.baz
console.log(baz()) // window
When we call foo.baz() it'll look to foo for the implementation of bar, but when calling foo.baz through a "detached" reference, it'll look to whatever the global object is (in this case the browser window object) and call bar from there. Because we defined bar in the global context, it then returns window.
The practice of assign a variable called self is so that it doesn't matter how you call your methods, because you always reference the this at the time of creation through the self variable. You don't have to write things this way, but then you should understand that references to this may change under your feet.
I have the following code with and without a module pattern. I have given the results right next to the execution. In the module pattern, I am able to change foo and set_inner, while in the function object (non-module), I can't change foo and set_inner.
module pattern:
var someObj = (function () {
var instance = {},
inner = 'some value';
instance.foo = 'blah';
instance.get_inner = function () {
return inner; };
instance.set_inner = function (s) {
inner = s; };
return instance; })();
someObj.get_inner();//some value
someObj.set_inner("kkkk");
someObj.get_inner();//kkk
someObj.foo;//blah
someObj.foo="ddd";
someObj.foo;//ddd
non-module:
var someObj = function () {
var instance = {},
inner = 'some value';
instance.foo = 'blah';
instance.get_inner = function () {
return inner; };
instance.set_inner = function (s) {
inner = s; };
return instance; };
someObj().get_inner();//some value
someObj().foo;//blah
someObj.foo="aaa";
someObj().foo;//blah
someObj().set_inner("kkk");
someObj().get_inner();//some value
Any help is much appreciated. Thanks!
Your "module" example creates a single object, referred to by instance. The anonymous function is immediately invoked, and returns that object. So someObj refers to instance.
Your "non-module" example creates a new object each time you invoke it. The anonymous function is not immediately invoked. Instead, it has to be called every time you want to use it.
It would behave the same way if you assigned the return value to a variable and referred to that, instead of repeatedly invoking someObj:
var obj = someObj();
obj.get_inner(); //some value
obj.foo; //blah
obj.foo="aaa";
obj.foo; //aaa
//etc...
When I use var keyword to declare any variable it gets declared inside the enclosing scope. However in the code below, I have declared function c (inside an object method a.b) with var keyword and still this inside the function c is bound to the global object window. Why is this?
var a = {
b: function () {
var c = function () {
return this;
};
return c();
}
};
document.write(a.b()); //prints: [object Window]
The value of this is determined by context, not scope.
When you call a function without any context (context.func()) as you do there (c()), the default context is the default object (which is window in browsers) unless you are in strict mode (in which case it is undefined instead).
(There are exceptions to this rule, such as apply, call, bind, and new but none of them apply here).
Many people get confused by this. The value this depends on one of 4 methods of invocation.
However, functional invocation and method-invocation cause most of the confusion.
If a function is a member of an object, this is the object itself.
obj.someFunction(); //method invocation
If a function is called without context this is the global object (in 'strict mode' this is undefined.)
someFunction(); //functional invocation
The confusion occurs when a function is called within an object, but not as a member of the object as in anObject.testWithHelper(..);
var testForThis = function(isThis, message) {
//this can be confusing
if(this === isThis)
console.log("this is " + message);
else
console.log("this is NOT " + message);
};
//functional invocation
testForThis(this, "global"); //this is global
var anObject = {
test: testForThis, //I am a method
testWithHelper: function(isThis, message) {
//functional invocation
testForThis(isThis, message + " from helper");
}
};
//method invocation
anObject.test(anObject, "anObject"); //this is anObject
//method invocation followed by functional invocation
anObject.testWithHelper(anObject, "an object"); //this is NOT anObject from helper
Here is my JSFIDDLE
If you would like c to return a, you can use closure:
var a = {
b: function () {
var that = this;
var c = function () {
return that;
};
return c();
}
};
Or avoid this all together:
var getNewA = function() {
var newA = {};
newA.b = function() {
var c = function() {
return newA;
};
return c();
};
return newA;
};
var newA = getNewA();
Suppose I have:
var myfunc = function() {
// do stuff
}
myfunc.foo = function() {
//do other stuff
};
Now myfunc has a property foo that is a function, great. Is there a way to create myfunc from the get-go in this state? That is, I want foo to be defined when myfunc is created. The syntax, I would imagine, is something like:
var myfunc = {
:function() {
// do stuff
},
foo: function() {
// do other stuff
}
}
Except that's wrong.
You can place an anonymous function inside an object, however the only plausible way of doing this is to call the anonymous function when the object is initialised, otherwise the function will never be able to be called - it's anonymous!
Here's a JSFiddle: http://jsfiddle.net/g105b/99K5F/
var myfunc = function() {
this.foo = function() {
console.log("myfunc.foo called!");
};
(function() {
console.log("Anonymous function called.");
})();
};
// Initialising "myfunc" will call the anonymous function.
var instance = new myfunc();
// Now the foo method can be called.
instance.foo();
A little confused as to what functionality you are looking to gain here...
If you want some code to execute when the myfunc is defined, you could use the module pattern:
var myfunc = (function() {
var self = {};
// any initialization code can go here
alert("myfunc init code");
self.somePublicMethod = function () {
}
return self;
}());
This can also be called an immediate function, a function that is defined and executed at the same time.
From within the closure, and code that is not defined as part of another function will be executed when the object is defined, so when you do something like this:
myfunc.somePublicMethod()
the alert would have already been fired.
(This answer written before the first half of the question was significantly revised)
Now myfunc has a property foo that is a function
No, it doesn't.
You called it with myfunc() so this is a reference to the global window object, thus you are creating window.foo.
Possibly what you are looking for is:
function myfunc () {
// do stuff when myfunc is called
}
myfunc.foo = function () {
// do stuff when myfunc.foo is called
};
or perhaps:
function myfunc () {
// do stuff when myfunc is instantiated
this.foo = function () {
// Add a foo property to this when myfunc is instantiated
// ... which is only worth while if you are doing pretty
// ... odd stuff with the variables that are passed in
}
}
var instance = new myfunc();
or maybe:
function myfunc () {
// do stuff when myfunc is instantiated
}
myfunc.prototype.foo = function () {
// Have a foo function on every instance of myfunc
}
var instance = new myfunc();
… but you've abstracted the problem you are trying to solve away in your question, so it is hard to tell what you are actually trying to achieve.
You can use jQuery:
var myFunc = jQuery.extend(
function() { ... },
{
bar: "wioll haven be",
foo: function() { alert(myFunc.bar); }
}
);
myFunc();
myFunc.foo();
This is mostly code acrobatics, this is probably the closest you'll get:
var myfunc;
(myfunc = function(){}).foo = function(){};
There is no practical difference in declaring methods later though, since javascript is single-threaded.