javascript question: functionName.VariableName? - javascript

I had the following question in a test today. But i had not see something like functionName.VariableName before. Not sure how that works.
Would be great if you can tell me the solution:
function Item(itemName)
{
var next_item_id = 1;
Item.item_name = itemName;
Item.item_id = next_item_id++;
}
var Item1 = Item('Desktop');
var Item2 = Item('Laptop');
var Item3 = Item('Monitor');
Anything wrong with the code above? if yes fix it. (The problem i would see is next_item_id is always 1, need to make it global?)
Modify the function so that the variable “next_item_id”, cannot be modified during run time.
My own question, how does the variable like Item.item_name work? I want to google it, but not sure what I should search for.
Thanks.

Your thinking is close in that next_item_id will always be 1, but it's generally not recommended to pollute the global namespace. Instead, wrap it in an anonymous function:
(function() {
var next_item_id = 1;
function Item(itemName)
{
//Use "this" to apply the property to the instance only
this.item_name = itemName;
this.item_id = next_item_id++;
}
var Item1 = new Item('Desktop');
var Item2 = new Item('Laptop');
var Item3 = new Item('Monitor');
})()
Also, as in Java, the general best practice in Javascript is to use camelCase rather than under_scores. Constructors are generally in UpperCamelCase. Examples:
Array //UpperCamelCase
Object.prototype.toString //toString is camelCase
This question is ambiguous, and, depending on the interpretation, there can be a number of possible answers. next_item_id is a "var" declared inside a function and naturally has an internal [[DontDelete]] and [[DontEnum]] flag. If it's a "var" and we're not using "this" as shown in my modified code, the variable is inherently not accessible outside of the function or its nested functions and therefore cannot be modified. You can use the non-standard const or you can create an object and use Object.defineProperty to create a setter that returns false assuming an ES5-compatible environment, etc.
Functions are objects in Javascript. All objects can have "properties."

Javascript functions are also objects and can have properties.
They behave like static fields in Java.

You're going about it all wrong. I'm assuming that you want to set internal variables.
If you want to create a 'constructor', do something like this:
function Item(itemName)
{
var next_item_id = 1;
this.item_name = itemName;
this.item_id = next_item_id++;
}
var Item1 = new Item('Desktop');
var Item2 = new Item('Laptop');
var Item3 = new Item('Monitor');
Both item_name and item_id will be publicly available. To make use next_item_id like you want, try this:
Item.next_item_id = 1;
Then in your constructor, do Item.next_item_id++;
Your final code should look something like this:
function Item(itemName)
{
this.item_name = itemName;
this.item_id = Item.next_item_id++;
}
Item.next_item_id = 1;
var Item1 = new Item('Desktop');
var Item2 = new Item('Laptop');
var Item3 = new Item('Monitor');
What this is doing is attaching a property to the object Item. You might be thinking, "Item is a function! How is this possible?!". Nearly everything in JavaScript is an object with mutable properties. The only things that aren't are the keywords null and undefined (AFAIK).
Item is still a function, but it also has a property next_item_id.
Also, using new will create a new instance. This is a similar concept as in Java and other programming languages. Just calling Item is like calling a function, and you'll get back whatever is returned from it (through an explicit return statement, otherwise undefined).

Answer for question 2 : Modify the function so that the variable “next_item_id”, cannot be modified during run time.
If I have interpreted your question correctly, you want to have Item.item_id as a constant that cannot be modified any where outside the constructor. I don't think we can have constants in JS.
Item1.item_id = someValue
Above line, used some where can change the item_id value of Item1.

Related

"push is not a function" error in Google App Script

I have a code that is supposed to read a google sheet and push these into an array but i keep encountering an error that proData.push is not a function What could I be missing in this code?
function getData() {
var values = SpreadsheetApp.getActive().getSheetByName("Projects").getRange("A1:O").getValues();
values.shift();
var proData = [];
values.forEach(function(value) {
var proData = {};
proData.project_state = value[0];
proData.project_name= value[4];
proData.project_code= value[5];
proData.end_date= value[2];
proData.push(proData);
})
Logger.log(JSON.stringify(proData));
return proData;
}
I will appreciate help in looking at this.
This line tells the whole story:
proData.push(proData);
You're trying to push an object onto itself? Clearly this is an indication that something is wrong. So let's look at where you define proData:
var proData = {};
That at least explains the error. proData is an object, not an array. And an object indeed doesn't have a function called push. You may have thought it was an array, because you defined an identically named array here:
var proData = [];
But for the line where you call .push, how is the system to know which variable you intend for what purpose? In a higher scope you have an array named proData, but in the current scope of this operation you obscured that with an object named proData. And in doing so made the array inaccessible within the scope of the function passed to .forEach.
To avoid confusing both the JavaScript engine and yourself in this matter, simply use different variable names. Re-naming the variable in the smaller scope has a lower impact, so that's a good candidate. (Though it's not always the best choice. If the variable in the higher scope is semantically not clear about what it contains then it should be re-named.)
Something like this:
values.forEach(function(value) {
var pd = {};
pd.project_state = value[0];
pd.project_name = value[4];
pd.project_code = value[5];
pd.end_date = value[2];
proData.push(pd);
});

Storing a pointer in javascript

Is it possible to keep an object reference without using an holder object in javascript?
Currently when an object gets overridden I sometimes lose the reference to the "current" object state illustrated in the snippet below;
Is there a way to put a "pointer" in an array or not?
EDIT
To the questions asked:
What I have in the objects I have are references to form fields. Some of these are text fields, some of them are textareas, some of them checkboxes.
I wish to keep a map next to the direct referene of what type they are.
basicaly it would be
obj {
this.text1 = createTextField();
this.text1.datepicker();
this.text2 = createTextField();
this.area1 = createArea();
this.check = createCheck();
this.datefields = [this.text1];
this.checkboxes = [this.check];
}
So I can use the datefields/checkboxes array as a checkpoint to validate against which type a field is/should behave.
Currently I use
function datefields() { return [this.text1]; };
But I'd like to know if there's a better way to do this than to intantiate a new array when I need to check it.
I know there is a way with observers to mimic pointer behaviour, and i've fiddled with those and have some good results with that, i'm just curious if there are other ways i'm not aware of.
function myObject() {
this.myvalue = null;
this.arr = [this.myvalue];
}
myObject.prototype.alter = function() {
this.myvalue = "hello";
}
var x = new myObject();
var elem = document.getElementById('results');
function log(message) {
elem.appendChild(document.createTextNode(message));
elem.appendChild(document.createElement('br'));
}
log("x.myvalue = "+x.myvalue);
log("x.arr[0] = "+x.arr[0]);
log("calling alter");
x.alter();
log("x.myvalue = "+x.myvalue);
log("x.arr[0] = "+x.arr[0]);
<div id="results"></div>
Simple answer: Only objects (including all subtypes) are passed by reference in JS. All other simple values are copied.
For a bit more detail I would recommend reading You Don't Know JS: Types & Grammer but specifically the section Value vs Reference in Chapter 2:
In JavaScript, there are no pointers, and references work a bit differently. You cannot have a reference from one JS variable to another variable. That's just not possible.
Quoting further on:
Simple values (aka scalar primitives) are always assigned/passed by value-copy: null, undefined, string, number, boolean, and ES6's symbol.
Compound values -- objects (including arrays, and all boxed object wrappers -- see Chapter 3) and functions -- always create a copy of the reference on assignment or passing.
There are plenty of examples included to show these points. I would highly recommend reading through to get a better understanding of how values/references work in JS.
There is no pointers in Javascript, though you could cheat a little using a wrapper object. Here is a minimal implementation of such an object:
var Wrapper = function (value) {
this.value = value;
};
Wrapper.prototype.valueOf = function () {
return this.value;
};
Then you may use it in place of the original value:
function myObject() {
this.myvalue = new Wrapper(null); // wrapper
this.arr = [this.myvalue];
}
myObject.prototype.alter = function() {
this.myvalue.value = "hello"; // notice the ".value"
}
The rest of your code needs no tweaks.

Javascript: How to dynamicly add a number to a variable name?

Say I have to following code:
var numb = $(selector).length;
And now I want to dynamicly make variables based on this:
var temp+numb = ...
How would I be able to do this?
Edit:
I know some of you will tell me to use an array. Normally I would agree but in my case the var is already an array and I rly see no other solution than creating dynamic names.
Variables in Javascript are bound to objects. Objects accept both . and [] notation. So you could do:
var num = 3;
window["foo"+num] = "foobar";
console.log(foo3);
PS - Just because you can do that doesn't mean you should, though.
In global scope (not recommended):
window["temp"+numb]='somevalue;
window.console && console.log(temp3);
In a scope you create - also works serverside where there is no window scope
var myScope={};
myScope["temp"+numb]="someValue";
window.console && console.log(myScope.temp3);

JavaScript official keywords shortcuts

I've seen something similar to this code in the Google API JavaScript, I mean the r=Array part. Here is an example of what they have done:
var r = Array;
var t = new r('sdsd' , 'sdsd');
alert(t[0]);
Few questions about this:
Is it legal to write like this and won't cause any problems?
I can do something similar with other keywords like ´For´ loop or with the ´this´ keyword?
Can I have article about this JavaScript official keyword shortcuts etc..?
Thank you in advance.
That works because Array is an object. You can do that with any object. For example, the Date object:
var d = Date;
console.log((new d()).getTime()); //Prints time
You cannot do that for keywords such as for or while because they are language constructs that will be recognised by the interpreter.
You can do it with this:
document.getElementById("b").onclick = function() {
var x = this; //this holds a reference to the DOM element that was clicked
x.value = "Clicked!";
}
In fact, that can be very useful sometimes (to keep a reference to this so you can access it from an anonymous inner function for example). This also works because, to put it simply, this will be a reference to an object.
Yes
for - no. this - yes.
You can store references to any JavaScript object in a variable. String, Array, Object, etc. are JavaScript objects that are built-in to the language. for, if, while, etc. are are JavaScript statements, and cannot be stored or referenced any other way.
You can do it the other way around as well (and really mess yourself up in the process):
Array = 0;
var myArray = new Array("a", "b", "c"); // throws error
This is easily undone like this:
Array = [].constructor;
Edit: Being able to assign the value of this to a variable is essential when nesting functions that will execute in a different scope:
function Widget() {
var that = this;
this.IsThis = function() {
return isThis();
};
function isThis() {
return that == this;
}
}
new Widget().IsThis(); // false!
Maybe not the best example, but illustrates losing scope.
You cannot reassign the value of this:
function doSomething() {
this = 0; // throws error
}

Duplicate variables in JavaScript

Is there is any way/tool to detect the duplicated variables/methods names in the project JavaScript files?
There is no such thing as duplicate names in Javascript. You will never get an error when re-declaring a name that already exists.
To avoid overwriting existing names in Javascript, good developers do at least one of these things:
1) Carefully keep their variables out of the global scope, usually adding all names needed for the app under just one or two globally-scoped objects.
// No
var foo = 1;
var bar = 2;
var bas = 3;
// Yes
var MyApp = {
foo:1,
bar:2,
bas:3
}
2) Check that a variable name does not yet exist before creating it.
// No
var MyObj = {};
// Yes
var MyObj = MyObj || {} // Use MyObj if it exists, else default to empty object.
jsLint might help you
http://www.jslint.com/
JavaScript Lint can probably help:
http://javascriptlint.com/
http://javascriptlint.com/

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