Javascript Variables Initialization - javascript

There is one thing in JavaScript which I can't understand.
When we declare a variable like this:
var var_Name
it called Local Variable.
When we declare a variable like this:
var_Name
it called Global Variable.
When exactly the browser resets their values? Once the page refreshes?
What I mean is, when the pages loaded, I declare a variable, and by the time, I increases it's value. When the value is going to set back to it's original initialization? When I refresh the page? or if it's a Local Variables it refreshes right away after stopping using it and if it's Global variable it refreshes only when the page refreshes?
Thanks!

Global declaration:
var_Name = 1;
// is equal to
var var_Name = 1;
// and is also equal to
window.var_Name = 1;
The variable lives as long as the window object does.
So it will be available until you leave/reload the current page.
A local variable inside a function lives as long as the function is running:
function y(){
var x = 1;
console.log(typeof x !== 'undefined');
}
y();
console.log(typeof x === 'undefined');

A global variable can be accessed from any function in any file loaded by the page.
And when the page reloads the variable is unset until some code is run again and assign a value to it.

The Javascript engine does not maintain any variable values over a page loads. Thus, any global variables that were declared and defined during the life of a page will be lost when that page reloads.
Variables declared with var are limited to the scope in which they are defined. For a browser, there is only Function scope and Global scope. As a result, a local variable declared in a function will cease to exist once that function returns, unless it is captured by a closure (a large topic that is worth searching the Internet about).
At no point to variables 'refresh' to their originally assigned values without an explicit action by the program. They are either in scope or out of scope and when in scope, they have whatever value was last assigned to them.
It's worth noting that executing the following outside of a function:
var foo = 1;
will still create a Global variable, since you're in the Global scope if you're not in a Function's scope.

Global variable is visible on all document. Local variable is visible only in block you define it. Variables will not be visible on the other documents.
When you refresh page all the variables are newly set that mean you won't get any variable's value until you save it (for example in cookie or via ajax).

Related

var variable reassignment within function

I don't understand why a var variable can be reassigned within a function, but the change also applies outside of the function. Why/How?
var c = 1;
function Fn() {
c = 2;
}
Fn();
c; // 2
Why isn't the value 2 limited to the scope of the function?
When I write c = 2 within a function, does the javascript engine automatically hoist a new var c outside of the function and assigns it the value undefined, which is then changed to 2 once Fn() is called?
It applies outside the function because, inside the function, you are changing the variable.
You are not creating a new variable that exists only inside the function.
Why isn't the value 2 limited to the scope of the function?
You didn't use var, let, const or any other method to create a variable in the scope of the function.
You are accessing the variable you already created in the wider scope.
When I write c = 2 within a function, does the javascript engine automatically hoist a new var c outside of the function and assigns it the value undefined, which is then changed to 2 once Fn() is called?
No. There isn't a new variable. There is only the c you already created outside the function.
This is a common complaint about javascript. Since you used "Var" it has a global scope, so even though you're within a new function when you use c=2 since it's already defined globally it's changed globally. Using "Let" helps define things local to the function and "const" defines globals as constants so they cannot be changed. This issue is particularly fun when you have two global variables with the same name in different JavaScript files and then reference both files to be used on a page. Globals should be used with caution.
When you start run this program, engine will store your variable which declared with "var" keyword in global object(window) then move on to get in the function, Engine will create Special Scope for function is called "Function Execution Context" (FEC) every declaration within the function will be available in this scope(FEC), so when Engine execute body of your function will find re-assignment for variable is called "c", it will looking for it in current scope, if didn't find it, will move on parent scope, in this case, Global Scope is its destination, will find the searched variable and then re-assign it with new value.
Read this wonderful article -> execution-context-how-javascript-works-behind-the-scenes

Scoping Rules in JavaScript

I am going through the book JavaScript: The Complete Reference, Third Edition By: Thomas Powell; Fritz Schneider to have a detailed understanding of the concepts.
Scoping Rules
Outside of a function or object, variables are within the global space whether explicitly defined with var or not. Within a function or object, if the var statement is used, the defined variable will be local to the construct; without the statement, it will be global.
Commonly, JavaScript developers make assumptions about scoping rules with var that aren’t quite true. For example, a var statement found within a for loop does not scope that value to the loop. In this case, it is scoped to either the function it is within or to the global space if it is outside a function or an object.
Just to see what happens consequently, I coded like this,
When I press Ctrl+Space in Eclipse IDE for it to show JavaScript proposals, why am I able to access the variable jLocal outside the function?
As per the author description:
For example, a var statement found within a for loop does not scope that value to the loop. In this case, it is scoped to either the function it is within or to the global space if it is outside a function or an object.
Because at the bottom of your code you have:
...
jLocal = jLocal + j; // defined not in any functions
...
Making it global, but not necessary defined.
It isn't the case of a local function. myFunc is global, just as the variable jLocal is (albeit the name). Because of hoisting, jLocal is assumed to be declared on top of parent scope.
Looking more carefully, there's two variable's named jLocal. One local to myFunc and an implicit one on global scope.
Want a tip?
Put "use strict"; just before var global1 = true;. An HTML 5 implementation would be able to catch and show your error.

Initializing a JavaScript variable in the local scope

I'm studying variable scope in Javascript, and have come across the difference between variable declaration, and variable initialization. From talking to a developer I know, my understanding is that writing var before a variable declaration assigns the variable to the local scope, while not writing var before declaring the variable assigns the variable to the global scope. Is this true?
If writing var before declaring a variable does assign the variable to the local scope, is it necessary to write var later, when initializing the variable to keep it in the local scope? For example:
var someVariable;
// Do some things with JavaScript
someVariable = 'Some Value'
Since I declared someVariable in the local scope with var, but then initialized someVariable without using var, does JavaScript think that I just initialized one variable in the local scope, or that I declared one variable in the local scope, and then declared and initialized another variable in the global scope?
Later on, when I want to change the value of someVariable again, do I need to write var before the variable expression, or will JavaScript know that I'm changing the value of an already declared local variable? Technically speaking, how does JavaScript know when I'm changing the value of an already declared local variable, and when I'm declaring and initializing a global variable?
var something = "Initial value."
This means: "create a variable in the local scope and give it an initial value". The local scope means the function in which you use this statement.
something = "New value."
This means: "find variable 'something' in the nearest scope, and assign it a new value".
If you use the second statement without ever using the first, the statement will look for any definition of something in progressively bigger scopes (the function that contains your function, if it exists, the function that contains that, etc., until it reaches the global scope). If it finds something, it will assign to an already existing variable. If it finds nothing, it will create a global variable with that name.
If you use var first, you simply ensure that this search always stops at local scope.
These are the same:
var x;
// ...
x = 1;
...and...
var x = 1;
Both define a variable in the local scope and assign a value to it. If you want to change the value of the variable later in the same scope you can simply reference it by name:
x = 2;
If you're in a different scope however, unless the variable was declared in the global scope in the first place you will not be able to access it (it's "out of scope"). Attempting to do so will define a variable with that name in the global scope.
function a(){
var x = 1;
}
function b(){
x = 2; // 'x' in a is out of scope, doing this declares a new 'x' in global scope
}
a();
b();
When referencing a variable in the same scope it was declared, you do not need to prefix it with var, though you can:
var x = 1;
// ...
var x = 2;
...there's no need to do that. While it assigns 2 to 'x', it logically has no effect since var is already in local scope. If x had been declared globally however:
var x = 1;
function a(){
var x = 2;
console.log(x);
}
a();
console.log(x);
This will print first '2' and then '1'. By referencing x preceded with var in the function, it applies the local scope to the variable. Once the function completes the variable's original scope is restored (or the re-scope is lost, if you want to look at it that way). Thanks to #zzzzBov for pointing this out.
Hope this helps.
my understanding is that writing var before a variable declaration assigns the variable to the local scope, while not writing var before declaring the variable assigns the variable to the global scope. Is this true?
Not entirely.
function foo() {
var a = 1;
function bar() {
a = 2; // Still in the scope of foo, not a global
}
}
Since I declared someVariable in the local scope with var, but then initialized someVariable without using var, does JavaScript think that I just initialized one variable in the local scope, or that I declared one variable in the local scope, and then declared and initialized another variable in the global scope?
There is only one someVariable in that example.
Later on, when I want to change the value of someVariable again, do I need to write var before the variable expression
var scopes a variable for the entire function, no matter where in the function it appears.
If you define a variable using var, you can refer to the same variable without using the var keyword over and over. These refer to the same variable:
var someVariable;
//...code...
someVariable = 'rawr';
If you did use the var keyword every time you were changing the variable, you wouldn't get separate variables. The newest declaration would just overwrite the oldest declaration. So there's no point in using the var keyword except for initialization. To change the value of someVariable, you can just make assignments to the variable name like in the above example.
Basically, using var will create a new variable if there is no variable in that scope with the same name.
Now take this code for example:
var someVariable = 'initialized';
function test1(){
//this someVariable will be a new variable since we have the var keyword and its in a different scope
var someVariable = 'test1';
console.log(someVariable);
}
function test2(){
//because there is no var keyword this refers to the someVariable in the parent scope
someVariable = 'test2';
console.log(someVariable);
}
console.log(someVariable); //initialized
test1(); //test1
console.log(someVariable); //initialized
test2(); //test2
console.log(someVariable); //test2
With this example you can see that depending on what you want the code to do, you could be having problems. If you wanted test2 to act like test1 and forgot to use the var keyword you would be confused when you were expecting someVariable to be initialized and instead it was test2.
But you could have also purposely not used the var keyword because you wanted test2 to update the parent variable. So it is important that you use the var keyword correctly.
Not using var when initializing variables will create the variable on the global scope. This is not good practice. If you want variables on the global scope, manually put them there. i.e. window.someVariable = 'initialize'; That way anyone else that sees your code knows that you made it a global variable on purpose.

What happens when a local variable is assigned to global object?

Please ignore that this can be re-written without variables. It's just to have a simple example.
window.onload = function() {
var a = document.body, b = function() {console.log(1)};
a.onkeydown = b;
};
I know what happens: it works. But how?
If b was a global variable, the interpreter would store a reference to it. In this example, does the interpreter store a reference to the local variable, only to replace it, with what I assume is a copy of the function, when the local variable is destroyed? Or is the reference to the local variable still stored somewhere behind the scenes, and is then re-purposed?
Functions (and other objects) are always passed by reference. b does not contain the function, rather it points to it. When you assign a.onkeydown = b, you are making a.onkeydown point to the same function object. Then the function ends, so the local b variable is destroyed but the function it points to is still there - it would only be removed by the garbage collector if there were nothing else pointing it to it.

Javascript clears a variable after there is no further reference it

It is said, javascript clears a variable from memory after its being referenced last.
just for the sake of this question i created a JS file for DEMO with only one variable;
//file start
//variable defined
var a=["Hello"]
//refenence to that variable
alert(a[0]);
//
//file end
no further reference to that variable, so i expect javascript to clear varaible 'a'
Now i just ran this page and then opened firebug and ran this code
alert(a[0]);
Now this alerts the value of variable, If the statement "Javascript clears a variable after there is no further reference it" is true how come alert() shows its value.
Is it because all variable defined in global context become properties of window object, and since even after the execution file window objects exist so does it properties.
Of course the variable HAS to be kept around in this example - after all, you keep the ENVIRONMENT it has been defined in around. As long as you COULD still access it is has to be kept, so if you can make this test and it ever fails - the JS interpreter is "kaputt".
Do this instead:
(function () {
var a = 1;
}());
// and NOW, at THIS point there is nothing any more referencing "a"
Of course, from out "here" you cannot test that - you'd have to look at the internal memory structures of the JS interpreter/compiler (today in the days of V8 it's more like a "interpiler" or "compreter" aynway).
In addition though, like all garbage collecting (GC) languages, the memory is not freed immediately but depending on GC strategy used by the particular implementation of Javascript, which also takes current memory usage and demand into account. GC is a costly operation and is delayed, if possible, and/or run when it does not take away CPU resources from the real app.
By the way, slight variation:
(function () {
var a = 1;
//empty function assigned to global namespace,
//in browsers "window" is the global object
window.example_function = function () {};
}());
In THIS example the result is the same as in yours: as long as you view that page the memory for "a" is NEVER released: the function assigned to property example_function of the global object still exists, so all of the environment is was defined in has to be kept! Only after
delete window.example_function
which deletes that property - which in the end is a pointer to the (empty) function expression - from the global object, could variable "a" be released. Also note that "a" is not even used by that function, see Google and search for "lexical scoping", one of the most defining properties of the Javascript language.
And even more fun:
Had I written
//define a variable in global namespace
var example_function;
(function () {
var a = 1;
//empty function assigned to global namespace,
//in browsers "window" is the global object
example_function = function () {};
}());
I could not use "delete" to remove it, in fact I could not ever release it. That's because in the first example example_function becomes a new property of the global object (emphasis), while in this last example it is a variable, and "delete" works with object properties only. (I used "windows.example_function" in the earlier example, but without the "window." it would have been just the same, example_function would have been created as property in the global object. Only the "var" statement creates variables.)
Is it because all variable defined in global context become properties of window object, and since even after the execution file window objects exist so does it properties.
Yes. You would either have to close the window, or explicitly remove a from the window properties.
A side effect of your script is that there's a property name "a" defined in the global object ( window ), so there is actually still a global reference to a.
(function()
{
var a = 12;
alert(a);
})();
If we wrap the declaration of a in self-executing function like here, a will be inaccessible after the function has exited.
Yes, although you can mitigate this behavior by declaring and acting on your variables within the scope of a function:
( function myfunc(a){
var b = 100;
alert(a); // 200
alert(b); // 100
}(200));
alert(a); // undefined
alert(b); // undefined
Referencing a variable does not mean using it in some manner. As long as there is at least one reference to the variable which can still be accessed, it has to be kept in memory.
Looking at your example, the following line has no effect on whether the variable gets cleared or not. Even if a wasn't being used anywhere, it would still have been kept intact.
//refenence to that variable
alert(a[0]);
Although an object may be created inside a function, its lifetime may extend beyond the function itself. The only thing to remember is whether there are still any valid references to the object in question. Consider this example,
(function() {
var a = ["Hello"];
var copy = a;
a = null;
setTimeout(function() {
// a: null, copy: ["Hello"]
console.log("a: %o, copy: %o", a, copy);
}, 2000);
})();
The variable a is created inside an anonymous function, and another variable copy is referencing it. a is set to null right after, but we still have 1 reference to it from copy. Then we create a timeout which makes another reference to the same variable. Now even though this anonymous function will go out of scope after it executes the setTimeout, we still left 1 reference to it in the timeout function. So this copy variable will still be intact when the timeout function is run.

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