Why should I use javascript call method? - javascript

I'm trying to understand the call and apply methods in javascript. But I didn't understand why I should use it.
var person = {
fullName: function() {
return this.firstName + " " + this.lastName;
}
}
var person1 = {
firstName:"John",
lastName: "Doe"
}
var person2 = {
firstName:"Mary",
lastName: "Doe"
}
var x = person.fullName.call(person1);
I can do this example without using call and apply.
var person = {
fullName: function(firstName, lastName) {
return firstName + " " + lastName;
}
}
var person1 = {
firstName:"John",
lastName: "Doe"
}
var person2 = {
firstName:"Mary",
lastName: "Doe"
}
var x = person.fullName(person1.firstName, person1.lastName);
Or I don't understand this example.
function Product(name) {
this.name = name;
}
function Pizza(name) {
Product.call(this,name);
}
const pizza = new Pizza("Margherita");
When I think of this example, I can do with the prototype. Why use call or apply? Thank you

A good use case is when you want to 'borrow' a function with a different context. Take the example below, you can definitely use inheritance to give Cat the bark function but maybe you don't want that function to exist on every instance but only want to use it in certain situations.
function Dog(name) {
this.name = name
this.bark = function() {
console.log('woof' + this.name)
}
}
const dog = new Dog('spot')
dog.bark() // woofspot
function Cat(name) {
this.name = name
}
const cat = new Cat('cat')
dog.bark.call(cat) // woofcat

function Product(name) {
this.name = name;
}
function Pizza(name) {
Product.call(this,name);
}
const pizza = new Pizza("Margherita");
That's inheritance. Pizza is a product. In other languages, for example PHP, inheritance looks like this:
class Foo {
public function __construct() {
// Do stuff specific for Foo
}
}
class Bar extends Foo {
public function __construct()(
parent::__construct();
// Do stuff specific for Bar
}
}
Here, we don't have extends and in order to make it work, you need to say that the this in the parent constructor is the child.
Using call, you can say what the this in the Product() function/constructor is.
In this case, it is the Pizza object (the new created an object {}). Without using call, Pizza wouldn't even have a name.
The same goes for your first example
var person = {
fullName: function() {
return this.firstName + " " + this.lastName;
}
}
var person1 = {
firstName:"John",
lastName: "Doe"
}
var person2 = {
firstName:"Mary",
lastName: "Doe"
}
var x = person.fullName.call(person1);
Yes, it worked without calling call but not without drastic changes.
person.fullName.call(person1); is like saying take this function and permute this with my person1 object. So in the end, it is as though you did this:
return person1.firstName + " " + person1.lastName;
As to which one to use
Note: While the syntax of this function is almost identical to that of call(), the fundamental difference is that call() accepts an argument list, while apply() accepts a single array of arguments.

As far as I know, it is all a matter of preference on which you use, but you must use call and/or apply, you cannot do it without them.

Related

How to use constructors as a prototype chain?

Suppose that I have a javascript constructor:
function Person(name) {
this.name = name;
this.hello = function () { return "It's a-me, " + name + "!"; };
}
the Person "type" has a convenient method, hello that I would like to re-use on another type Student. I would like for a Student to have the following structure:
function Student(name) {
this.name = name;
this.hello = function () { return "It's a-me, " + name + "!"; };
this.books = [];
}
One option is to use the code for Student as-is above. This is sub-optimal for the usual reasons, such as that if I want it to mirror the Person type, then I have to manually keep their code in sync. Anyway, this is not good.
A second option (from this answer) is to do something like:
function Student(name) {
Person.call(this, name);
this.books = [];
}
When I mario = new Student("mario") I get the following:
Object { name: "mario", hello: hello(), books: [] }
I've successfully achieved the inheritance that I wanted, but this has the unfortunate property of placing all of the desired properties into my object. Notably, for example, there is a "hello" property on mario. It would be nice if that "hello" property could be looked up in the prototype chain.
How can I neatly create a prototype chain given the relevant object constructors?
When you create an object with new, the this value of your constructor function is set to the object, and that object's prototype is set to the prototype of the constructor Function being called.
That's why your properties are currently being added to the created object.
function Student {
this.name = name
}
const student = new Student('John')
// is (almost) equivalent to the following
const student = {}
student.name = 'John'
But if you want to add properties to the prototype instead, so that you can use inheritance, then in ES5 Javascript you can do so by assigning properties directly to the prototype of your constructor function.
function Person(name) {
this.name = name;
}
// Person is a function
// Its prototype is an instance of Object, and it has no properties
// i.e. something like Person.prototype = new Object()
Person.prototype.hello = function() {
return 'It is I, ' + this.name
}
// Now Person.prototype has one property, "hello", which is a function.
function Student(name) {
Person.call(this, name)
this.books = [];
}
// Student is a function
// Its prototype is also an instance of Object with no properties
// the following is the magic line
Student.prototype = Object.create(Person.prototype)
// We replace the prototype of the Student function with a new object, but
// Object.create() allows us to set the prototype to an existing object, in this case Person.prototype,
// Person.prototype is itself an instance of Object, and we previously
// added the "hello" function to it as a property.
const student = new Student('John')
// So what happens here?
// First a new object is created, and its prototype is set to Student.prototype
// Then we call Person.call(this)
// Which executes the body of the Person function
// So you get the properties on the object itself through the body of the Person and Student functions
// And you get the shared functionality through the prototype chain of instance -> Student.prototype -> Person.prototype -> Object.prototype
Hope that helps!
You can use prototyping method or class sugar method as you want.
Here is a simple example :
function Student(name) {
this.name = name;
this.books = [];
}
Student.prototype.hello = function(){
return "It's a-me, " + this.name + "!";
}
Student.prototype.addBook = function(book){
this.books.push(book);
}
Student.prototype.getBooks = function(){
return this.books;
}
let mario = new Student("Mario");
console.log(mario.hello());
mario.addBook("prototyping");
mario.addBook("chain");
console.log(mario.getBooks());
class Person {
constructor(name) {
this.name = name;
this.books = [];
}
hello(){
return "It's a-me, " + this.name + "!";
}
addBook(book){
this.books.push(book);
}
getBooks(){
return this.books;
}
}
let luigi = new Person("Luigi");
console.log(luigi.hello());
luigi.addBook("classSugar");
luigi.addBook("classType");
console.log(luigi.getBooks());
For longer chains use Object.assign, here is an example of making a GradStudent that is both a Student and a Person and has the personality of a Comedian and also has the properties and methods of a 4th class GameCharacter:
(function() {
//Person
function Person(name) {
this.name = name;
this.helloString = "Hello my name is "
}
Person.prototype.name = "Bob";
Person.prototype.hello = function() {
return this.helloString + this.name;
};
//Student
function Student(name, books) {
Person.call(this, name);
this.books = books;
}
Student.prototype = Object.create(Person.prototype);
Student.prototype.constructor = Student;
Student.prototype.books = ["math","reading"];
//Comedian
function Comedian(name) {
Person.call(this,name);
};
Comedian.prototype = Object.create(Person.prototype);
Comedian.prototype.constructor = Comedian;
Comedian.prototype.hello = function() {
return "I don't know what my parents where thinking when they name me Squat, just kidding, my name is " + this.name;
};
//GameCharacter
function GameCharacter(power) {
this.power = power;
};
GameCharacter.prototype = new Object();
GameCharacter.prototype.constructor = GameCharacter;
GameCharacter.prototype.gainPower = function(power) {
this.power += ", "+power;
};
GameCharacter.prototype.statePower = function() {
return this.power;
};
//GradStudent
function GradStudent(name, books, degree) {
Comedian.call(this, name);
Student.call(this,name,books);
GameCharacter.call(this, "jumping");
this.degree = degree;
this.gainPower("flying");
}
GradStudent.prototype = Object.create(Student.prototype);
Object.assign(GradStudent.prototype, Comedian.prototype, GameCharacter.prototype);
GradStudent.prototype.constructor = GradStudent;
var gradStudent = new GradStudent("Bill",["C", "C++", "JavaScript"], "B.S.");
console.log(gradStudent.hello() + " I have a " + gradStudent.degree +" I am studying " + gradStudent.books.toString() + ". \n In a game I play my power's are "+ gradStudent.statePower() + ". \n Is gradStudent also a Student? " + (gradStudent instanceof Student) + "" );
var otherStudent = new Student("Jennifer" ,["english", "science"]);
console.log(gradStudent.books.toString() + " " + otherStudent.books.toString());
})();
GradStudent is an instance of Student, it's a type of Student, and can also do all the things Comedian and GameCharacter does. The value of Object.assign is that kind of multiple inheritance.
I can accomplish such a thing with the following:
function Student(name) {
Object.setPrototypeOf(this, new Person(name));
this.books = [];
}
However, I'm not familiar enough with javascript to know what possible problems might arise with this solution. Coming from other OO style languages, it feels weird for the prototype of mario to be an actual instance of a Person, but I suppose everything in js is an instance, in some sense, so this might just be bias on my part.

Can a function be declared as a variable in JavaScript?

Consider the following JavaScript object definition :
var person = {
firstName: "John",
lastName : "Doe",
id : 5566,
fullName : function() {
return this.firstName + " " + this.lastName;
}
};
I know that if we want to use the object property(i.e. a function) we have to write the following code :
person.fullName();
As per my knowledge, JavaScript objects are containers for named values called properties or methods.
Also, I know that I can define the object properties like firstName, lastName, id as individual variables.
Now, my question is can I also define the function "fullName" as a variable? If it is possible then how? and if not then why?
Thank You.
It is possible. Note that your code is equivalent to this code:
var person = {};
person.firstName = "John";
person.lastName = "Doe";
person.id = 5566;
person.fullName = function() {
return this.firstName + " " + this.lastName;
}
The important bit to see is that function() { return this.firstName + " " + this.lastName; } (or rather, the result of evaluation of that string of code) is a value, just like 5566 is, and can be contained in a property, or a variable, or an array... just like 5566 can. The only difference is, one is a number, the other - a function.
Besides the original example of a function stored in a property ("method"), here is an example of a functional value being stored in a variable:
var sayHello = function(name) { console.log("Hello, " + name); }
Here it is in an array:
var adders = [
function(x) { return a; },
function(x) { return (a + 1) % 3; }
function(x) { return (a + 2) % 3; }
];
Here it is being passed as a parameter:
function twice(f, x) {
return f(f(x));
}
twice(function(x) { return x * 2; }, 7);
// 28
Yes
Here is simple answer with example to your question
jQuery(document).ready(function() {
window.$ = jQuery;
initializeGlobelCalls.init();
});
var initializeGlobelCalls = function () {
var validatefunction = function() {
$(document).on('click','#divid',function(){//event trigger when you want to call function
//your function code
});
};
return {
init: function () {
validatefuction();//can add multiple functions here
}
};
}();
with this structure you can write multiple functions ,first need to define function like validatefunction and then add into init
It is not possible unless you generate fullName when creating the object such as the following:
var person = {
firstName: "John",
lastName : "Doe",
id : 5566,
fullName : ''
};
person.fullName = person.firstName + person.lastName;
Otherwise there's no way to create a static variable only one that will be created by the function when called (such as in your original example).
That is not possible because by the way JavaScript was designed, you can't have dynamic properties assigned statically (apart from ES6 getters as cited below, which will still generate the value on every call) in a way that they'll only be generated once automatically without some kind of algorithm from your part or a library to do that for you.
As I cited above, you can try ES6 getters but that will only make it look like a property, it will still get called every time it is accessed:
Example:
var person = {
firstName: "John",
lastName : "Doe",
id : 5566,
get fullName() { return this.firstName + ' ' + this.lastName; }
};
Then you'd access it like this: person.fullName
In JavaScript a variable can point to function as well.
Example:
var fullName = function(param) {
return param;
}
console. log(fullName('some text'));

How can I make inheritance without third object shim?

I try to understand OOP in JavaScript.
I want to create object Person and Worker. Worker inherits Person. I wrote code:
function Person(name, age) {
this.name = name;
this.age = age;
}
Person.prototype.grow = function () {
this.age++;
console.log('Person grows, new age ' + this.age);
};
function Worker(name, age, position) {
// How to call parrent constructor Person?
this.position = position;
}
Worker.prototype = Person.prototype;
Worker.constructor = Worker.prototype.constructor;
Worker.prototype.promote = function () {
console.log('Worker ' + this.name + ' became Senior ' + this.position);
};
Worker.prototype.grow = function () {
this.promote();
// How to call parrent method grow?
};
var workerObj = new Worker('Ben', 39, 'engineer');
workerObj.grow();
But in JS variable assignment works by reference and expression Worker.prototype = Person.prototype; doesn't get result and method grow in Worker overrides method grow in Person and I will not be able to get access to parent method.
I know that I need to use third object. But is there way to inherit without third object?
Setting the functions' .prototype properties to the same object essentially makes them the same class, as you've noticed. What you really need, is for Person.prototype to be an object that inherits from Worker.prototype. But you need to do this without calling the Person constructor, since that leave some side effects back in the prototype chain (they aren't significant in the case you mention, but they could be significant in other cases). So Worker.prototype = new Person(); isn't an ideal solution for you.
Object.create() works for this. Among other things, this function can be used to create an object that inherits from another, without calling any constructors. For the situation you're talking about, it would look like this:
Worker.prototype = Object.create(Person.prototype);
Worker.prototype.constructor = Worker;
Object.create doesn't work in older versions of IE, and a total polyfill isn't available due to engine limitations. But there are polyfills for Object.create which work well enough to enable this kind of subclassing, so browser support need not be an issue.
I typically wrap this up in a function, so that once I've defined my subclass and superclass, I can express the relation without much extra rigamarole. You could do that like this:
Object.subclass = function (sub, sup) {
sub.prototype = Object.create(sup.prototype);
sub.prototype.constructor = sub;
}
Object.subclass(Worker, Person); // "class Worker extends Person"
I make inheritance in javascript like this :
var c_Parent = function () {
};
var c_Child = function () {
c_Parent .call(this);
};
c_Child.prototype = new c_Parent();
c_Child.prototype.constructor = c_Child;
So in you case :
function Person(name, age) {
this.name = name;
this.age = age;
}
Person.prototype.grow = function () {
this.age++;
console.log('Person grows, new age ' + this.age);
};
function Worker(name, age, position) {
this.position = position;
Person.call(this, name, age);
}
Worker.prototype = new Person();
Worker.prototype.constructor = Worker;
Worker.prototype.promote = function () {
console.log('Worker ' + this.name + ' became Senior ' + this.position);
};
Worker.prototype.grow = function () {
this.promote();
Person.prototype.grow.call(this);
};
var workerObj = new Worker('Ben', 39, 'engineer');
workerObj.grow();

What am I doing wrong when combining objects with the module pattern

This Possible duplicate did not help me, I failed on an interview because of a similar question.
The idea is to create a person Object that is a father of teacher and grandfather of Manager using module pattern and inheritance.
Something like that Manager->Teacher->Person
My code looks like that(My Plunk):
(function(undef)
{
/**Waiting till document is ready before applying next functions*/
$(document).ready(function(){
var person = new APP.Person('Aria Stark','223232');
document.write(person.getDetails());
})();
var APP = {};
APP.Person =(function() {
function Person(name, ID) {
this.name = name;
this.ID = ID;
}
Person.prototype.getDetails = function() {
return " name: " + this.name + " ID: " + this.ID;
};
return Person;
});
APP.Teacher =(function () {
function Teacher(name, ID, salary, hatColor) {
APP.Person.call(this, name, ID);
this.salary = salary;
this.hatColor = hatColor;
}
Teacher.prototype = new APP.Person();
Teacher.prototype.getDetails = function() {
return APP.Person.call(this) + " Salary: " + this.salary + " Hat: " + this.hatColor;
};
return Teacher;
});
APP.Manager =(function () {
function Manager(name, ID, salary, hatColor, car) {
APP.Teacher.call(this, name, ID, salary, hatColor);
this.car = car;
}
Manager.prototype = new APP.Teacher();
Manager.prototype.getDetails = function() {
return APP.Teacher.call(this) + " Car: " + this.car;
};
return Manager;
});
})();
I get an error on the first line:
var person = new APP.Person('Aria Stark','22323');
The error is: Uncaught TypeError: object is not a function
Can someone help me with with that? I'm also open to hear other improvements to this code.
This is how you create (and call) a self-executing function or IIFE:
(function () {})();
Simply writing (function () {}) does not call the function, it actually has no real effect in this case. With your way APP.Person will be a function, that returns another function (the constructor for Person) when called - it will not operate well with new.
Also, for the documentready, you don't want to execute the result of the .ready call, just pass the function as a parameter, it will be called when the event triggers:
$(document).ready(function(){
}); //removed () from here
Plunk with these changes
All your objects are declared like this:
APP.X=(function() {
function Y() {}
Y.prototype.method= function() {};
return Y;
});
That is not wrong in itself, though it is a bit odd. What you want to have is this:
APP.X=(function() {
function X() {}
X.prototype.method= function() {};
return X;
})(); // actually call the anonymous function you used to encapsulate variables
Then again, why do you bother with an IIFE? You might just as well do this:
APP.X = function () {}
X.prototype.method= function() {};
Encapsulating them brings absolutely nothing, there is nothing private you are hiding from the outer scope.
Also, my post might be better suited for CodeReview than StackOverflow, but your inheritance model has significant issues. Your Teacher.prototype is an instance of Person created with no parameters. Only under highly restrictive circumstances will that be safe.
A better model would be this one:
Teacher = function(){
Person.call(this /*, person parameters*/);
}
Teacher.prototype = Object.create(Person.prototype);
There are many good answers on SO dealing with this specific issue, here is one from me.
There is no need of jQuery to create these things. Well, I have not very good exposer on this, but I tried to show the things you want to know:
// Creating Person Class
var Person = function(name, id){
this.name = name;
this.id = id;
};
Person.prototype.getInfo = function(){
return "name: " + this.name + ", id: " + this.id;
};
// Instance of Person
var x = new Person("Ashish", 1);
x.getInfo();
// Creating Teacher Class
var Teacher = function(name, id, salary, hatColor){
Person.call(this, name, id);
this.salary = salary;
this.hatColor = hatColor;
};
// Inheriting Persons methods
Teacher.prototype = new Person();
// Adding new method to it
Teacher.prototype.getFullDetails = function(){
return this.getInfo() + ", salary: " + this.salary + ", Hatcolor: " + this.hatColor;
}
// Instance of Teacher Class
var teacher = new Teacher("John", 2, 15000, "red");
teacher.getInfo(); //output: "name: John, id: 2"
teacher.getFullDetails(); // output : "name: John, id: 2, salary: 15000, Hatcolor: red"
console.log(teacher.salary); // output : 15000
So, above you can see:
- A Person class is created with 2 properties and one method.
- and then we created a Teacher class and inherited the method from Person class in it.
- and then added another method called getFullDetails() in it which accesses the method coming from Person class.
And this is what you are doing in the DOM.ready:
alert(x.getInfo()); // in my example:
In your example:
var APP = {};
APP.Person = function Person(name, ID) {
this.name = name;
this.ID = ID;
}
APP.Person.prototype.getDetails = function () {
return " name: " + this.name + " ID: " + this.ID;
};
var person = new APP.Person('Aria Stark', '223232');
alert(person.getDetails());

a prototype question in javascript

<script type="text/javascript">
var Person =
{
Create: function(name, age) {
this.name = name;
this.age = age;
},
showMe: function() {
return " Person Name: " + this.name + " Age: " + this.age + " ";
}
};
function New(aClass, aParams) {
function new_() {
aClass.Create.apply(this, aParams);
};
new_.prototype = aClass;
var obj = new new_();
return obj;
}
</script>
I don't quite understand the code above. Could someone tell me the meanings of Person, Create, showMe, New and new_? Thanks a lot.
Person is an object with two functions - Create and showMe. In JavaScript, there are no classes, only objects, and this is how you write up an object - using 'Object Literal Notation' (the curly braces and functions/properties separated by commas).
New is a clever re-implementation of the new keyword. Instead of classes, javascript has prototypes, and instead of creating an instance of a class you create a copy of the prototype. In this case, if you passed Person to New(), it would used as the prototype in new_.prototype = aClass, and the rest of this function will return an object with the Person prototype, which means any changes to Person later on will be inherited into obj as well (unless obj has overridden them).
`Person` -- a variable w/ 'parts' (used loosely) `Person.Create` and `Person.showMe'
`Person.Create` -- function of `Person` that sets `Person.name` and `Person.age` to its arguments
`Person.showMe` -- returns a string explaining values of `Person.name` and `Person.age`
`New` -- a function intended to instantiate new Person's thru prototypal (this is NOT class based) inheritenced
`New._new` -- `New` uses this to get it done
Basically thru prototype inheritence, even though Person is only 'made' once, other 'versions' of it can be constructed in kind. It can be used like this (try it here: http://jsfiddle.net/PBhCs/)
var Person = {
Create: function(name, age)
{
this.name = name;
this.age = age
},
showMe: function()
{
return " Person Name: " + this.name + " Age: " + this.age + " ";
}
};
function New(aClass, aParams)
{
function new_()
{
aClass.Create.apply(this, aParams);
};
new_.prototype = aClass;
var obj = new new_();
return obj;
}
var a = New(Person, ['moo', 5]);
var b = New(Person, ['arf', 10]);
alert(a.showMe() + b.showMe());

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