We Keep Coding

Exception when calling a self-executing function in an object literal

I'm trying to set a field's value to a function, then execute it. this.fetchLocalStorage is not a function is what I get from running it.
var app = {
busdata: (function(){return this.fetchLocalStorage()})(),
fetchLocalStorage: function() {
//fetching
return "fetching data...";
}
};
console.log(app.busdata);
Note that by not making it a self-executing function, it works, but then it would mean the function is called everytime when I only need to fetch the data one time.
busdata: function(){return this.fetchLocalStorage()}
/* ... */
console.log(app.busdata()); //this calls the function every time :(
Thought it might a context problem so I tried a couple things with bind and call but with no luck.
Am I missing something?

this is only bound to the object when you call a method of the object, i.e. app.someMethod(). But you're trying to call fetchLocalStorage() when you're creating the object, not in a method of the object, so this is whatever the outer context is, which is likely the global window object.
You can't refer to other properties of the object until after the object has been created. So just call the function normally after you create the object.
var app = {
fetchLocalStorage: function() {
//fetching
return "fetching data...";
}
};
app.busdata = app.fetchLocalStorage();

I think your params were on the wrong side of the brace.
busdata: (function(){return this.fetchLocalStorage()}() ),

Callback within a promise within a class?

I have a class that I use to load external resources via an XMLHttpRequest (this is for WebGL) so I'm loading models, shaders etc. My plan was to put a loading display up whilst it did all these requests and then when it's finally complete I want it to run a callback function from the original function that created it. However, I'm getting strange results when I try to run that call back (such as it has no access of any of the objects within the class that did the loading).
I can get around this problem by passing "this" into the loading class and then doing
self = this;
promise(self.callback());
but I'd much rather specify the function that I want it to callback to after its done the loading. Does anyone know if this can be done? My code looks like this:
Main Class
this.loadingClass = new LoadingClass(this.LoadingComplete, resources);
Main.prototype.LoadingComplete = function()
{
// Returns undefined if i specify the callback function instead of just "this"
console.log(this.loadingClass.anyOfTheMembersOfThisClass);
}
Loading Class
LoadingClass = function(callback, resources) {
..
Promise.all(resources).then(function(loadedResources)
{
..
callback();
});
}

When you pass the function object as
(this.LoadingComplete, resources)
the object to which it was bound, will not be passed. So, only the function object LoadingComplete is passed to LoadingClass and when it is invoked as
callback()
the this value will be undefined (in strict mode).
To fix this,
you need to bind the this object, like this
new LoadingClass(this.LoadingComplete.bind(this), resources)
if your environment supports ES2015's Arrow functions
new LoadingClass(() => this.LoadingComplete(), resources);
In both these cases, when the LoadingComplete is invoked from LoadingClass, the this will be retained.

You are detouching callback (read about "this") function from the root object, so of course it loses context. Specify bindingContext explicitly with Function.prototype.bind method:
this.loadingClass = new LoadingClass(this.LoadingComplete.bind(this), resources);

Issue with variable scope in NodeJS, Express, Prototyping

File: MainApp.js
var reqHandler = reqire('HTTPRequestPostHandler')..
...
...
var httpRequestHandler = new reqHandler();
app.post('/', httpRequestHandler.handleRootPost);
File: HTTPRequestPostHandler.js
HTTPRequestPostHandler =function(){
this.someVar = value;
}
HTTPRequestPostHandler.prototype.handleRootPost{
console.log(this.someVar) //Error -> this.someVar is undefined.
}
I have these 2 files. The MainApp.js is where express is configured and various handlers for each endpoints e.g. '/'.
But when a post request occurs and the request handler (HTTPRequestPostHandler.prototype.handleRootPost) is invoked, I get a undefined error while accessing the variable this.someVar.
Why is this happening. What am I doing wrong here.

It's not a scope issue, it's a this issue.
Normally in JavaScript, this is set entirely by how a function is called, not where it's defined. So what's happening is you're passing your method in as a callback, but since it's not being called in a way that sets this to be your instance. (The next version of the specification, ES6, will have "arrow functions" that have this bound to them rather than being set by how they're called.)
The usual way that this gets set during a function call is when you call the function as part of an expression retrieving the function reference from an object, e.g.
foo.bar();
That calls bar with this set to foo. But this:
var f = foo.bar;
f();
...does not. this will be undefined (in strict mode) or the global object (in loose mode).
Other ways to set this are via Function#call and Function#apply, which let you call the function and explicitly say what this should be.
You can solve this with bind:
app.post('/', httpRequestHandler.handleRootPost.bind(httpRequestHandler));
bind returns a function that, when called, will call the original function with this set to what you pass in as the first argument.
More (on my blog):
Mythical methods
You must remember this

Can a parameter be passed to a function that is set as an object literal value?

I have a function, functionWithDifferentScope, that takes an object, myobject.options, as a parameter. One of the pairs in the options object is a callback which points to a function defined in myObject: myCallback.
What I'm trying to achieve is injection of the myObject namespace into the callback of a function that is defined (by a 3rd party) at the global level.
A simplified example:
var myObject = {
options: {
callback: this.myCallback(this),
...,
},
init: function() {
// functionWithDifferentScope operates in the 'window' context
functionWithDifferentScope(this.options);
},
myCallback: function(namespace) {
// 'this' is window
// 'namespace' is myObject
}
}
myObject.init();
When executing this script, this.myCallback(this) appears to be executed at definition (due to the parenthesis?); as well as once myObject.init(); is caled. During the first executions this is myObject, but subsequent calls through the functionWithDifferentScope identify this as window.
Is there a way to pass the myObject namespace to the myObject.options.callback value as a parameter?

Do you mean this?
var myObject = new (function() {
var t = this;
vac callback = function() {
// t equals to the myObject-instance
// this equals to window
}
this.init = function() {
funcWithDifferencScope(callback);
}
})();
myObject.init();

I think what you are looking for is prototype style "bind"
Basically "this.myCallback(this)" is a call to the function.
this.myCallback is the function itself. (It is an object with the type function).
You can call it using the method 'call' or 'apply' that you can use on functions. Which will call these functions.
See:
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Function/call
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Function/apply?redirectlocale=en-US&redirectslug=JavaScript%2FReference%2FGlobal_Objects%2FFunction%2Fapply
The first argument is the object context to work in. What I think you mean by object namespace.
so: a.callback(5) is the same as a.callback.call(a,5)
However please note that these days if you are working with most javascript libraries you probably have a 'bind' function that will do the work for you.
http://prototypejs.org/doc/latest/language/Function/prototype/bind/
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Function/bind
the idea is that this.callback.bind(this) returns a Function object you can call that will inject the correct context automatically so you can pass the return value of bind alone as a callback and be assured that the method will be executed on the correct object.

javascript class calling XMLHttpRequest internally, then handling onreadystatechange

this thing almost works:
function myClass(url) {
this.source = url;
this.rq = null;
this.someOtherProperty = "hello";
// open connection to the ajax server
this.start = function() {
if (window.XMLHttpRequest) {
this.rq = new XMLHttpRequest();
if (this.rq.overrideMimeType)
this.rq.overrideMimeType("text/xml");
} else
this.rq = new ActiveXObject("Microsoft.XMLHTTP");
try {
this.rq.onreadystatechange = connectionEvent;
this.rq.open("GET", this.source, true);
this.rq.send(null);
this.state = 1;
} catch (err) {
// some error handler here
}
}
function connectionEvent() {
alert("i'm here");
alert("this doesnt work: " + this.someOtherProperty);
}
} // myClass
so it's nothing more than having the XMLHttpRequest object as a member of my class, instead of globally defined, and invoking it in the traditional way. however, inside my connectionEvent callback function, the meaning of "this" is lost, even though the function itself is scoped inside myClass. i also made sure that the object that i instantiate from myClass is kept alive long enough (declared global in the script).
in all the examples of using javascript classes that i saw, "this" was still available inside the inner functions. for me, it is not, even if i take my function outside and make it a myClass.prototype.connectionEvent. what am i doing wrong? thank you.

The reason it's not working is that in Javascript, this is defined entirely by how a function is called, not where it's defined. This is different than some other languages.
To have this mean what you expect, you'd have to ensure that explicitly by "binding" it:
this.start = function() {
var self = this; // Set up something that survives into the closure
/* ...lots of stuff omitted... */
this.rq.onreadystatechange = function() {
// Call `connectionEvent`, setting `self` as `this` within the call
connnectionEvent.call(self);
};
There's more information about this management in this blog post, but basically: When a function is called without any particular effort made to set this, this within the function will always be the global object (window, on browsers). There are two ways to set this when making a call:
Using Function#call (or Function#apply) as I did above, passing in the object reference to use as this as the first parameter. That calls the function and sets this to whatever you passed in. The difference between #call and #apply is how you supply further arguments to pass into the function. With #call you supply them as further arguments to the #call call (e.g. func.call(thisArg, arg0, arg1, arg2)), whereas with #apply you supply them as an array in the second argument (func.apply(thisArg, [arg0, arg1, arg2])).
Using dotted notation: If you have an object that has a property with a function assigned to it (like your start property), calling it by using the object instance, a dot, and the property name (this.start() or foo.start(), etc.) will call the function and set this to the object instance within the call. So the dotted notation does two entirely distinct things: Looks up the property and finds a function as its value, and calls the function such that this is set to the object during the call. Literally it's like: var f = obj.func; f.call(obj).
Slightly off-topic, but: Barring a really good reason to, I wouldn't reinvent this wheel. There are lots of libraries out there to simply XHR calls. jQuery, Prototype, Closure, and nearly all the rest.