Develop Reference

How to disable console.log messages based on criteria from specific javascript source (method, file) or message contents

I am working on project that uses quite a few js libraries and one of them is outputting awful lot into console, it is polluting the airwaves so bad that it makes it hard to debug....
I know how to disable logging completely by overriding console.log with this,
(function (original) {
console.enableLogging = function () {
console.log = original;
};
console.disableLogging = function () {
console.log = function () {};
};
})(console.log);
but how do it do that per source(file/url) of where message originated?

Preamble
The beginning discusses how stuff works in general. If you just care for the code, skip Introduction and scroll to the Solution heading.
Introduction
Problem:
there is a lot of console noise in a web application. A significant amount of that noise is coming from third party code which we do not have access to. Some of the log noise might be coming from our code, as well.
Requirement:
reduce the noise by stopping the log. Some logs should still be kept and the decision about those should be decoupled from the code that is doing the logging. The granularity needed is "per-file". We should be able to choose which files do or do not add log messages. Finally, this will not be used in production code.
Assumption: this will be ran in a developer controlled browser. In that case, I will not focus on backwards compatibility.
Prior work:
First off logging can be enabled/disabled globally using this
(function (original) {
console.enableLogging = function () {
console.log = original;
};
console.disableLogging = function () {
console.log = function () {};
};
})(console.log);
(code posted in the question but also here for reference)
However, that does not allow for any granularity.
This could be modified to work on only specific modules but that cannot be done for third party code.
A mixed approach would be to disable logging globally but enable it in each of our modules. Problem there is that we have to modify each of our files and we will not get some potentially useful external messages.
A logging framework can be used but it might be an overkill. Although, to be honest, that's what I'd go for, I think, but it may need some integration into the product.
So, we need something light-weight-ish that has some configuration and does not need to be pretty.
Proposal:
The Loginator (title subject to change)
Let's start with the basics - we already know we can override the global log function. We'll take that and work with it. But first, let's recognise that the console object supports more than just .log. There could be various logging functions used. So-o-o, let's disable all of them.
Silence everything
//shorthand for further code.
function noop() {}
const savedFunctions = Object.keys(console)
.reduce((memo, key) => {
if(typeof console[key] == "function") {
//keep a copy just in case we need it
memo[key] = console[key];
//de-fang any functions
console[key] = noop;
}
return memo;
},
{});
console.log("Hello?");
console.info("Hello-o-o-o?");
console.warn("Can anybody hear me?");
console.error("I guess there is nobody there...");
savedFunctions.log("MUAHAHAHA!")
This can obviously be improved but it showcases how any and ll logging can be stopped. In reality, console.error should probably be left and console.warn might be also useful. But this is not the be-all-and-end-all solution.
Next, since we can override console functionality...why not supply our own?
Custom logging
const originalLog = console.log;
console.log = function selectiveHearing() {
if (arguments[0].indexOf("die") !== -1) {
arguments[0] = "Have a nice day!";
}
return originalLog.apply(console, arguments)
}
console.log("Hello.");
console.log("My name is Inigo Montoya.");
console.log("You killed my father.");
console.log("Prepare to die.");
That is all the tools we need to roll our own mini-logging framework.
How to do selective logging
The only thing missing is to determine which file something is coming from. We just need a stack trace.
// The magic
console.log(new Error().stack);
/* SAMPLE:
Error
at Object.module.exports.request (/home/vagrant/src/kumascript/lib/kumascript/caching.js:366:17)
at attempt (/home/vagrant/src/kumascript/lib/kumascript/loaders.js:180:24)
at ks_utils.Class.get (/home/vagrant/src/kumascript/lib/kumascript/loaders.js:194:9)
at /home/vagrant/src/kumascript/lib/kumascript/macros.js:282:24
at /home/vagrant/src/kumascript/node_modules/async/lib/async.js:118:13
at Array.forEach (native)
at _each (/home/vagrant/src/kumascript/node_modules/async/lib/async.js:39:24)
at Object.async.each (/home/vagrant/src/kumascript/node_modules/async/lib/async.js:117:9)
at ks_utils.Class.reloadTemplates (/home/vagrant/src/kumascript/lib/kumascript/macros.js:281:19)
at ks_utils.Class.process (/home/vagrant/src/kumascript/lib/kumascript/macros.js:217:15)
*/
(Relevant bit copied here.)
True, there are some better ways to do it but not a lot. It would either require a framework or it's browser specific - error stacks are not officially supported but they work in Chrome, Edge, and Firefox. Also, come on - it's literally one line - we want simple and don't mind dirty, so I'm happy for the tradeoff.
Solution
Putting it all together. Warning: Do NOT use this in production
(function(whitelist = [], functionsToPreserve = ["error"]) {
function noop() {}
//ensure we KNOW that there is a log function here, just in case
const savedFunctions = { log: console.log }
//proceed with nuking the rest of the chattiness away
Object.keys(console)
.reduce((memo, key) => {
if(typeof console[key] == "function" && functionsToPreserve.indexOf(key) != -1 ) {
memo[key] = console[key];
console[key] = noop;
}
return memo;
},
savedFunctions); //<- it's a const so we can't re-assign it. Besides, we don't need to, if we use it as a seed for reduce()
console.log = function customLog() {
//index 0 - the error message
//index 1 - this function
//index 2 - the calling function, i.e., the actual one that did console.log()
const callingFile = new Error().stack.split("\n")[2];
if (whitelist.some(entry => callingFile.includes(entry))) {
savedFunctions.log.apply(console, arguments)
}
}
})(["myFile.js"]) //hey, it's SOMEWHAT configurable
Or a blacklist
(function(blacklist = [], functionsToPreserve = ["error"]) {
function noop() {}
//ensure we KNOW that there is a log function here, just in case
const savedFunctions = {
log: console.log
}
//proceed with nuking the rest of the chattiness away
Object.keys(console)
.reduce((memo, key) => {
if (typeof console[key] == "function" && functionsToPreserve.indexOf(key) != -1) {
memo[key] = console[key];
console[key] = noop;
}
return memo;
},
savedFunctions); //<- it's a const so we can't re-assign it. Besides, we don't need to, if we use it as a seed for reduce()
console.log = function customLog() {
//index 0 - the error message
//index 1 - this function
//index 2 - the calling function, i.e., the actual one that did console.log()
const callingFile = new Error().stack.split("\n")[2];
if (blacklist.some(entry => callingFile.includes(entry))) {
return;
} else {
savedFunctions.log.apply(console, arguments);
}
}
})(["myFile.js"])
So, this is a custom logger. Sure, it's not perfect but it will do the job. And, hey, since the whitelisting is a bit loose, it could be turned to an advantage:
to whitelist a bunch of files that share a substring, say, all myApp can include myApp1.js, myApp2.js, and myApp3.js.
although if you want specific files, you can just pass the full name, including extension. I doubt there would be a bunch of duplicate filenames.
finally, the stack trace will include the name of the calling function, if any, so you can actually just pass that and that will whitelist on per-function basis. However, it relies on the function having a name and it's more likely for function names to clash, so use with care
Other than that, there can certainly be improvements but that is the basis of it. The info/warn methods can also be overriden, for example.
So, this, if used, should only be in dev builds. There are a lot of ways to make it not go into production, so I won't discuss them but here is one thing I can mention: you can also use this anywhere if you save it as a bookmarklet
javascript:!function(){function c(){}var a=arguments.length<=0||void 0===arguments[0]?[]:arguments[0],b=arguments.length<=1||void 0===arguments[1]?["error"]:arguments[1],d={log:console.log};Object.keys(console).reduce(function(a,d){return"function"==typeof console[d]&&b.indexOf(d)!=-1&&(a[d]=console[d],console[d]=c),a},d),console.log=function(){var c=(new Error).stack.split("\n")[2];a.some(function(a){return c.includes(a)})&&d.log.apply(console,arguments)}}(["myFile.js"]);
This is it minified (although I passed it through Babel first, to use ES5 minification) and still configurable, to an extent, as you can change the very end where you can pass the whitelist. But other than that, it will work the same and is completely decoupled from the codebase. It will not run at pageload but if that's needed you can either use this as a userscript (still decoupled) or include it before other JS files in dev/debug builds only.
A note here - this will work in Chrome, Edge and Firefox. It's all the latest browsers, so I assume a developer will use at least one of them. The question is tagged as Chrome but I decided to widen the support. A Chrome only solution could work slightly better but it's not really a big loss of functionality.

I was as troubled as you. This is my approach. https://github.com/jchnxu/guard-with-debug
Simple usage:
localStorage.debug = [
'enable/console/log/in/this/file.ts',
'enable/console/log/in/this/folder/*',
'-disable/console/log/in/this/file.ts',
'-disable/console/log/in/this/folder/*',
// enable all
'*',
].join(',');
The benefit: it's zero-runtime.
Disclaimer: I am the author of this tiny utility

It work in chrome:
...index.html
<html>
<body>
<script>
(function(){
var original = console.log;
console.log = function(){
var script = document.currentScript;
alert(script.src);
if(script.src === 'file:///C:/Users/degr/Desktop/script.js') {
original.apply(console, arguments)
}
}
})();
console.log('this will be hidden');
</script>
<script src="script.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
...script.js
console.log('this will work');
Console.log does not work from index.html, but work from script.js. Both files situated on my desctop.

I've found these settings in the latest (July 2020) Chrome DevTools console to be helpful:
DevTools | Console | (sidebar icon) | user messages
DevTools | Console | (gear icon) | Select context only
DevTools | Console | (gear icon) | Hide network
I like (1) most, I only see the messages from "my" code. (2) hides messages from my iframe.

If it's an option to modify file, you can set a flag at top of file for disabling logs for that:
var DEBUG = false;
DEBUG && console.log("cyberpunk 2077");
To disable logs for all js files, put it once at top of any js file:
var DEBUG = false;
if (!DEBUG) {
console.log = () => {};
}

This is not pretty but will work.
Put something like this in your file before the <script> tag of the "bad" library :
<script>function GetFile(JSFile) {
var MReq = new XMLHttpRequest();
MReq.open('GET', JSFile, false);
MReq.send();
eval(MReq.responseText.replace(/console.log\(/g,"(function(){})("));
}</script>
Then replace the tag
<script src="badLib.js">
With:
GetFile("badLib.js")
Only for short time debugging.

Can I prevent passing wrong number of parameters to methods with JS Lint, JS Hint, or some other tool?

I'm new to javascript programming (and scripting languages in general), but I've been using JS Lint to help me when I make syntax errors or accidentally declare a global variable.
However, there is a scenario that JS Lint does not cover, which I feel would be incredibly handy. See the code below:
(function () {
"use strict";
/*global alert */
var testFunction = function (someMessage) {
alert("stuff is happening: " + someMessage);
};
testFunction(1, 2);
testFunction();
}());
Notice that I am passing the wrong number of parameters to testFunction. I don't foresee myself ever in a situation where I would intentionally leave out a parameter or add an extra one like that. However, neither JS Lint nor JS Hint consider this an error.
Is there some other tool that would catch this for me? Or is there some reason why passing parameters like that shouldn't be error checked?

This is not generally possible with any static analysis tool. There are several reasons for this:
In general, JS functions can accept any number of arguments.
Most (all?) linters only work on a single file at a time. They do not know anything about functions declared in other files
There is no guarantee that a property being invoked as a function is the function that you expect. Consider this snippet:
var obj = { myFunc : function(a,b) { ... } };
var doSomething(x) { x.myFunc = function(a) { ... }; };
doSomething(obj);
obj.myFunc();
There is no way to know that myFunc now takes a different number of args after the call to doSomething.
JavaScript is a dynamic language and you should accept and embrace that.
Instead of relying on linting to catch problems that it wasn't intended to I would recommend adding preconditions to your functions that does the check.
Create a helper function like this:
function checkThat(expression, message) {
if (!expression) {
throw new Error(message);
}
}
Then use it like this:
function myFunc(a, b) {
checkThat(arguments.length === 2, "Wrong number of arguments.");
And with proper unit testing, you should never see this error message in production.

It's not natively possible in javascript. You would have to do something like this:
var testFunction = function (someMessage) {
var args = Array.prototype.slice.call(arguments);
if (args.length !== 1) throw new Error ("Wrong number of arguments");
if (typeof args[1] !== string) throw new Error ("Must pass a string");
// continue
};

Paul Irish demoed a hack for this a while back...passing undefined at the end of the parameters...
var testFunction = function (someMessage, undefined) {
alert("stuff is happening: " + someMessage);
};
testFunction("one", "two", "three");
He demos it here...see if it's what your looking for.

JavaScript: Get function name inside of itself

Yes, I realize there are countless threads out there about this issue, for starters:
Get function name from function itself [duplicate]
Get function name from inside itself
Arguments.callee is deprecated - what should be used instead?
But the problem with the answers given is arguments.callee is deprecated. All of the answers say to just give your function a name. However, from what I can tell, that does not fix my problem. Say I have the following function:
function blah() {
// arguments.callee.name is deprecated
console.log('The function name is: ' + arguments.callee.name + '.');
}
But because that's deprecated, I shouldn't be using it, so what should I be using instead? Is there any way I can access the function name when inside the function itself, or am I just out of probability here?
If it makes things easier, I am using the framework Ext JS, but I haven't found a way of knowing the function's name. If not, is there a jQuery approach? I'm desperate here.

You can provoke an exception and examine the stack trace.
The following proof of context works in the Chrome browser:
function test () {
try { [].undef () } catch (e) {
console.log (e.stack.split ('\n')[1].split (/\s+/)[2]);
}
}
For a more robust implementation consult http://www.eriwen.com/javascript/js-stack-trace/
which provides a full stack trace in any browser.
A more modern and comprehensive stack trace analyzer is http://stacktracejs.com

With some poking around, I came up with this SO thread, so building on top of that, I made a very very hacky solution that works (in both Chrome and FF... not sure about IE, but I doubt it works). Warning: this is very specific to my own use, so your mileage will definitely vary. Anyway, this is my code:
getLogLocation: function() {
var ua = navigator.userAgent;
var isFF = ua.search(/firefox/i) !== -1 ? true : false;
var isChrome = ua.search(/chrome/i) !== -1 ? true : false;
if (isFF || isChrome) {
var stack = Error().stack,
cname = '',
funcPattern,
classPattern = /.*\/(.*)\.js/; // looking for something between the last backslash and .js
if (stack) {
var stacks = stack.split('\n');
if (stacks) {
var theStack;
// the browsers create the stack string differently
if (isChrome) {
// the stack has getClassName, then logMessage, then our calling class, but Chrome has some added garbage
theStack = stacks[4];
funcPattern = /.*\.(.*)\s+\(/; // looking for something between a period and the first paren
}
else {
theStack = stacks[2];
funcPattern = /^\.*(.*)\#/; // looking for something between a period and an # symbol
}
var matches = theStack.match(classPattern);
cname = matches[1] + '::';
matches = theStack.match(funcPattern);
cname += matches[1] + ':';
}
}
return cname;
}
}
And if you're curious what my stack looks like, here're the relevant lines:
Firefox (cut out a lot of lines)
".getClassName#http://127.0.0.1/javascripts/app/mixins/ConsoleMixin.js?_dc=1383836090216:72
.logMessage#http://127.0.0.1/javascripts/app/mixins/ConsoleMixin.js?_dc=1383836090216:31
.constructor#http://127.0.0.1/javascripts/app/BaseController.js?_dc=1383836089659:39
..."
Chrome (the first 2 lines are the garbage I have to accommodate for... after that, it's similar to FF's Stack string)
"Error
at Error (<anonymous>)
at Ext.define.getLogLocation (http://127.0.0.1/javascripts/app/mixins/ConsoleMixin.js?_dc=1383836606405:72:19)
at Ext.define.logMessage (http://127.0.0.1/javascripts/app/mixins/ConsoleMixin.js?_dc=1383836606405:31:24)
at new Ext.define.constructor (http://127.0.0.1/javascripts/app/BaseController.js?_dc=1383836606265:39:14)
..."
See this jsFiddle for a working example... had to change the stack values because we're no longer in Ext JS.
Now, a little explanation. getLogLocation resides as a function in an Ext JS class (ConsoleMixin), and another function inside of ConsoleMixin (logMessage) calls getLogLocation, and logMessage is called by our outer class's function (constructor), which is why I have to compensate for the first 2 stack values. Like I said, very hacky and specific to my need, but hopefully someone can make use of it.

Javascript object member function referred to globally not recognized in callback

I'm having a problem with the following Javascript code (Phonegap in Eclipse):
function FileStore(onsuccess, onfail){
//chain of Phonegap File API handlers to get certain directories
function onGetSupportDirectorySuccess(dir){
//stuff
onsuccess();
}
function getDirectory(dir){
return "something" + dir;
}
}
var onFileStoreOpened = function(){
if (window.file_store instanceof FileStore){
console.log('window.file_store is a FileStore');
console.log(window.file_store.getDirectory('something'));
}
}
var onDeviceReady = function(){
window.file_store = new FileStore(onFileStoreOpened, onFileStoreFailure);
}
Here, I want to do some things to initialize file services for the app, and then use them in my initialization from the callback. I get the following error messages in LogCat:
07-03 06:26:54.942: D/CordovaLog(223): file:///android_asset/www/index.html: Line 40 : window.file_store is a FileStore
07-03 06:26:55.053: D/CordovaLog(223): file:///android_asset/www/cordova-1.8.1.js: Line 254 : Error in success callback: File7 = TypeError: Result of expression 'window.file_store.getDirectory' [undefined] is not a function.
After moving the code around and stripping out everything in getDirectory() to make sure it was valid, I'm not even sure I understand the error message, which suggested to me that getDirectory() is not seen as a member function of window.file_store, even though window.file_store is recognized as a FileStore object. That makes no sense to me, so I guess that interpretation is incorrect. Any enlightenment will be greatly appreciated.
I've since tried the following:
window.file_store = {
app_data_dir : null,
Init: function(onsuccess, onfail){
//chain of Phonegap File API handlers to get directories
function onGetSupportDirectorySuccess(dir){
window.file_store.app_data_dir = dir;
console.log("opened dir " + dir.name);
onsuccess();
}
},
GetDirectory : function(){
return window.file_store.app_data_dir; //simplified
}
}
var onFileStoreOpened = function(){
var docs = window.file_store.getDirectory();
console.log('APPDATA: ' + docs.fullPath);
}
var onDeviceReady = function() {
window.file_store.Init(onFileStoreOpened, onFileStoreFailure);
}
and I get
D/CordovaLog(224): file:///android_asset/www/base/device.js: Line 81 : opened dir AppData
D/CordovaLog(224): file:///android_asset/www/cordova-1.8.1.js: Line 254 : Error in success callback: File7 = TypeError: Result of expression 'docs' [null] is not an object.
All I want to do here is make sure certain directories exist (I've removed all but one) when I start, save the directory object for future use, and then retrieve and use it after all initialization is done, and I don't want everything in the global namespace. Of course I would like to be able to use specific instances when necessary, and I'm disturbed that I can't make it work that way since it demonstrates there is a problem with my understanding, but I can't even get this to work with a single, global one. Is this a Javascript problem or a Phonegap problem?

As it stands, your getDirectory function is a private function within FileStore. If you wanted to make it a 'member' or 'property' of FileStore, you would need to alter it a little within FileStore to make it like this:
this.getDirectory = function(dir){ };
or leave it how it is and then set a property....
this.getDirectory = getDirectory();
this way when new FileStore is called it will have getDirectory as a property because the 'this' keyword is always returned when calling a function with 'new'
Hope this quick answer helps. There's lots of stuff on the goog about constructor functions.

You understand it correctly. The getDirectory as it stands is a private function and cannot be called using the file_store instance.
Try this in the browser.
function FileStore(onsuccess, onfail){
function onGetSupportDirectorySuccess(dir){
//stuff
onsuccess();
}
this.getDirectory = function (dir){
return "something" + dir;
}
}
window.file_store = new FileStore('', ''); //the empty strings are just placeholders.
if (window.file_store instanceof FileStore){
console.log('window.file_store is a FileStore');
console.log(window.file_store.getDirectory('something'));
}
This will prove that the basic js code is working fine. If there still is a problem while using it in PhoneGap, comment.

What does this Javascript code do?

I've been looking at Sharepoint script files and I've come across this bit that I don't get:
function ULSTYE() {
var o = new Object;
o.ULSTeamName = "Microsoft SharePoint Foundation";
o.ULSFileName = "SP.UI.Dialog.debug.js";
return o;
}
SP.UI.$create_DialogOptions = function() {
ULSTYE:; <----------------------------- WTF?
return new SP.UI.DialogOptions();
}
Actually every function definition in this file starts with the same ULSTYE:; line right after the opening brace. Can anybody explain what does the first line in the second function do?
Firefox/Firebug for instance interprets this function as something that I can't understand either:
function () {
ULSTYE: {
}
return new (SP.UI.DialogOptions);
}
And I thought I knew Javascript through and through... ;) Must be some obscure feature I never used in the past and is obviously seldomly used by others as well.

After wondering about this for a long time, I finally sat down and worked it out. It's all part of a relatively sophisticated mechanism for collecting diagnostic information on the client which includes the ability to send a javascript callstack (including function name, and javascript file) back to the server.
Take a look at the first 250 lines of the file init.debug.js which is located at
%Program Files%\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\14\TEMPLATE\LAYOUTS\1033\init.debug.js
This file defines all the functions the 'ULS' implementation on the client.
Of course, you'll need to have SharePoint 2010 installed for the file to exist on your local machine.
UPDATE -- The following is an overview of roughly how the mechanism works. The real implementation does more than this
Consider the following html page with a few js includes, each of which can call out into each other.
<html>
<head>
<script type="text/javascript" src="ErrorHandling.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="File1.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="File2.js"></script>
</head>
<body>
<button onclick="DoStuff()">Do stuff</button>
</body>
</html>
We have two js include files, File1.js
function ULSabc() { var o = new Object; o.File = "File1.js"; return o; }
/* ULSabc is the unique label for this js file. Each function in
this file can be decorated with a label corresponding with the same name */
function DoStuff() {
ULSabc: ;
//label matches name of function above
DoMoreStuff();
}
and File2.js
function ULSdef() { var o = new Object; o.File = "File2.js"; return o; }
function DoMoreStuff() {
ULSdef: ;
DoEvenMoreStuff();
}
function DoEvenMoreStuff() {
ULSdef: ;
try {
//throw an error
throw "Testing";
} catch (e) {
//handle the error by displaying the callstack
DisplayCallStack(e);
}
}
Now, say our ErrorHandling file looks like this
function GetFunctionInfo(fn) {
var info = "";
if (fn) {
//if we have a function, convert it to a string
var fnTxt = fn.toString();
//find the name of the function by removing the 'function' and ()
var fnName = fnTxt.substring(0, fnTxt.indexOf("(")).substring(8);
info += "Function: " + fnName;
//next use a regular expression to find a match for 'ULS???:'
//which is the label within the function
var match = fnTxt.match(/ULS[^\s;]*:/);
if (match) {
var ULSLabel = match[0];
//if our function definition contains a label, strip off the
// : and add () to make it into a function we can call eval on
ULSLabel = ULSLabel.substring(0, ULSLabel.length - 1) + "()";
//eval our function that is defined at the top of our js file
var fileInfo = eval(ULSLabel);
if (fileInfo && fileInfo.File) {
//add the .File property of the returned object to the info
info += " => Script file: " + fileInfo.File;
}
}
}
return info;
}
function DisplayCallStack(e) {
//first get a reference to the function that call this
var caller = DisplayCallStack.caller;
var stack = "Error! " + e + "\r\n";
//recursively loop through the caller of each function,
//collecting the function name and script file as we go
while (caller) {
stack += GetFunctionInfo(caller) + "\r\n";
caller = caller.caller;
}
//alert the callstack, but we could alternately do something
//else like send the info to the server via XmlHttp.
alert(stack);
}
When we click the button on the page, our script file will call through each of the functions and end at DisplayCallStack, at which point it will recursively loop through and collect the stack trace
Error! Testing
Function: DoEvenMoreStuff => Script file: File2.js
Function: DoMoreStuff => Script file: File2.js
Function: DoStuff => Script file: File1.js
Function: onclick

The first bit defines a function that creates an object with a couple of properties and returns it. I think we're all clear on that bit. :-)
The second bit, though, is not using that function. It's defining a label with the same name. Although it uses the same sequence of characters, it is not a reference to the function above. Firefox's interpretation makes as much sense as anything else, because a label should be followed by something to which it can refer.
For more about labelled statements, see Section 12.12 of the spec.
Off-topic: I would avoid using code from this source. Whoever wrote it is apparently fairly new to JavaScript and doesn't show much sign that they know what they're doing. For instance, they've left the () off the new Object() call, and while that's allowed, it's fairly dodgy thing to do. They could argue that they were doing it to save space, but if they were, they'd be better off using an object literal:
function ULSTYE() {
return {
ULSTeamName: "Microsoft SharePoint Foundation",
ULSFileName: "SP.UI.Dialog.debug.js"
};
}
There's never much reason to write new Object() at all; {} is functionally identical.
And, of course, there's no justification for the second bit at all. :-)

Isn't it just a statement label? The fact the label has the same name as the earlier function doesn't mean anything, I think.

it looks, like it creates an empty object which should be filled with some data, but due to code generator that creates this code it is not deleted so it sits there empty