Develop Reference

How to dynamically change the contents of a function using JavaScript

To help understand this the function is in the html page and it is generated, I cannot change the generated code:
function Update_qu7260() {
var newVal = ''
for( var idx = 0; idx < 2; idx++ )
{
var test
if( idx == 0 ) test = text7263
else if( idx == 1 ) test = text7265
if( test.matchObj ) newVal += test.leftSel + "-" + test.matchObj.rightSel + ","
}
newVal = newVal.substring( 0, newVal.length-1 )
VarQuestion_0001.set( newVal )
qu7260.hasBeenProcessed=false;
doImmFeedback('qu7260');
}
var qu7260 = new Object();
...
qu7260.updFunc = Update_qu7260;
var qObj=[qu7260];
Note in the above the number "7260", the numbers start at 1 so there are lots of them and each Update_###() will be different so I cannot re-write them with "hard wired" code. My code is in an external JavaScript file and is executed onLoad:
...
var updFunc = qObj[0].updFunc.toString();
if(updFunc.indexOf('doImmFeedback(')!=-1){
updFunc = updFunc.replace('doImmFeedback','doImmQuestionFeedback'); // do my function
updFunc = updFunc.replace('function ',''); // remove the word function
var funcName = updFunc.substr(0,updFunc.indexOf('(')); // get the function name e.g. Update_qu7260
updFunc = "window['" + funcName + "']=function" + updFunc.replace(funcName,'');
eval(updFunc);
}
...
When I change the eval() to alert() I can see the that it's correct, however, the eval() is not raising any errors and my function doImmQuestionFeedback is not being called. When I subsequently do an alert(qObj[0].updFunc.toString()) I see the original function.
It would seem that I have provided information that is too complex, so the following code is a better example:
function hi(){alert('hi');}
function changeHi(){
hi(); // I get an alert box with hi
newHi = "function hi(){alert('hi there');}"
eval(newHi);
hi(); // I get an alert box with hi
window.setTimeout('hi()',500); // I get an alert box with hi
}
window.setTimeout('changeHi()',500);
The following is the original question:
I have a predefined function that I did not create, however, I know it's name so I can get the function itself and then I change it by doing:
var funcText = window.updateFunc.toString();
funcText = funcText.replace('doSomeOtherFunction(','doMyFunction(');
How do I update the actual function so it will do all that it did before except it will now call doMyFuntion()?
The following is an example to help visualize what I want to do, the actual function I need to change is very complex. I have:
function updateFunc(whatToUpdate,true){
... - do lots of stuff.
var retVal = doSomeOtherFunction(whatToUdate);
... - do lots of stuff based on retVal
}
I need to change this to:
function updateFunc(whatToUpdate,true){
... - do lots of stuff
var retVal = doMyFunction(whatToUdate);
... - do lots of stuff based on retVal, I have had a chance to change retVal
}
Then the first thing my function will do is call doSomeOtherFunction() check/change the returned value and subsequently return the value to the updateFunc().
I have tried to manipulate the funcText above to:
funcText = 'window.updateFunc = function(...';
eval(funcText);
Without success.

This may be closed enough to what you are looking for.
Assuming you have this original function:
function originalFunc(val) {
// this function converts input string to upper case
return val.toUpperCase();
}
Now you want to override it to something either before or after you execute that function (in this example, we execute before, of course before or after doesn't matter in this case).
// we preserve orignal function
var originalFunc_save = originalFunc;
// now we override the original function with this block
var originalFunc = function(text) {
// lets call the orignal function
text = originalFunc_save(text);
// now do our custom thing
return text.split('').reverse().join('');
}
So our test should work.
var text = 'This is a test';
console.log(originalFunc(text));
Output:
TSET A SI SIHT
This method also works if you have to override functions inside a class. The only thing we have to be careful of is to choose a saved name that doesn't interfere with the original class code. _save may not be good enough, but you get the idea.
UPDATE: I'm updating this code above to use a string variable pointing to the original function. I think this is what the OP wanted.
Original code which defined by some library
function originalFunc(val) {
// this function converts input string to upper case
return val.toUpperCase();
}
Now we use the func string variable to point to that function and execute it.
var text = 'This is a test';
var func = 'originalFunc';
text = window[func](text);
console.log(text);
Output: Of course we get the original intended result because we haven't overridden it.
THIS IS A TEST
Now we write our code to override the original function behavior using a string pointing to the function.
// let's define a new function string
var funcSaved = func + '___saved';
// now preserve the original function code
window[funcSaved] = window[func];
// override the original function code block
window[func] = function(text) {
// lets call the orignal function
text = window[funcSaved](text);
// now do our custom thing
return text.split('').reverse().join('');
}
// let's test the code
text = 'This is a test';
text = window[func](text);
console.log(text);
Output:
TSET A SI SIHT

You can make a clone of updateFunc function, edit it at your discretion and work with it in what follows.
function updateFunc(whatToUpdate, param){ // the initial function
...
var retVal = doSomeOtherFunction(whatToUpdate);
return retVal;
}
// formation of unnamed function as string
var newfunc = updateFunc.toString().replace('function updateFunc', 'function ').replace('doSomeOtherFunction(', 'doMyFunction(');
function doMyFunction(whatToUpdate){ // your new function, just for example
console.log(parseInt(whatToUpdate) * 10);
}
var newUpdateFunc;
// declaring new version of 'updateFunc' function
// which is stored in 'newUpdateFunc' variable
eval("newUpdateFunc = " + newfunc);
newUpdateFunc(3); // outputs '30'

I believe this is a valid use case for the forgotten JavaScript with feature.
Basic idea: you call original updateFunc supplying your own version of doSomeOtherFunction to it using with namespace injection:
function updateFunc(whatToUpdate,true){
... - do lots of stuff.
var retVal = doSomeOtherFunction(whatToUdate);
... - do lots of stuff based on retVal
}
function patchUpdateFunc() {
var original_doSomeOtherFunction = window.doSomeOtherFunction;
var original_updateFunc = window.updateFunc;
function doMyFunction() {
// call original_doSomeOtherFunction() here,
// do your own stuff here.
};
window.updateFunc = function() {
with ({doSomeOtherFunction: doMyFunction}) {
return original_updateFunc.apply(this, arguments);
}
}
}
patchUpdateFunc();

I think you are going at this way too complicated.
If you only have doMyFunction and doSomeOtherFunction to switch between, you could just create a flag somewhere telling you to use one or the other when used in an if-statement.
If you want to call a function with a name you do not know beforehand and you only get a name during runtime, you could either accept the function to call as a parameter or accept the name of the function as a parameter and call it like so: var retVal = window[functionName](); (assuming functionName is a property of the window object).
I would highly recommend directly accepting a function as a parameter since the function may not be defined in a global scope.
EDIT:
After your clarification, I think, I can give you a satisfying answer:
if you have a string like var functionString = "function updateFunc(whatToUpdate){var retVal = doMyFunction(whatToUpdate);}";
You can define a function using a Function object:
window.updateFunc = new Function("whatToUpdate", "return (" + functionString + ")(whatToUpdate)");
This will replace the already existing function and you can give it any valid function string you want as long as you know and specify the arguments.

If I understood correctly, you want to override the external function. You can achieve that with the following code
//Someone else's function
function externalFunction(foo){
return "some text";
}
//Your function
function myFunction(value){
//Do something
}
//Override
var externalFunction = (function(){
var original = externalFunction; //Save original function
return function(){
var externalFunctionReturnValue = original.apply(this, arguments);
return myFunction(externalFunctionReturnValue);
}
})();
I strongly sugest not to use eval, but since you want to parse javascript from string:
function hi(){alert('hi');}
function changedHi(){
hi(); // I get an alert box with hi
newHi = "window['hi'] = function(){alert('hi there');}"
eval(newHi);
hi(); // I get an alert box with hi there
window.setTimeout('hi()',500); // I get an alert box with hi there
}
window.setTimeout('changedHi()',500);
UPDATE:
This code snippet works which is your original code:
<script type="text/javascript">
function doImmFeedback(foo){
console.log("DoImmFeedback: " + foo);
}
function Update_qu7260() {
console.log("Some code")
doImmFeedback('qu7260');
}
</script>
<script type="text/javascript">
var qu7260 = new Object();
qu7260.updFunc = Update_qu7260;
var qObj=[qu7260];
var updFunc = qObj[0].updFunc.toString();
if(updFunc.indexOf('doImmFeedback(')!=-1){
updFunc = updFunc.replace('doImmFeedback','doImmQuestionFeedback'); // do my function
updFunc = updFunc.replace('function ',''); // remove the word function
var funcName = updFunc.substr(0,updFunc.indexOf('(')); // get the function name e.g. Update_qu7260
updFunc = "window['" + funcName + "']=function" + updFunc.replace(funcName,'');
console.log(updFunc);
eval(updFunc);
}
function doImmQuestionFeedback(foo){
//Your function
console.log("doImmQuestionFeedback: " + foo);
}
Update_qu7260(); //This executes your doImmQuestionFeedback
</script>
So if your function isn't running, your function isn't in the global scope, or something else is happening, and we can't know if don't have any more info. Check your developer's console for javascript errors.

How can rewrite function instead of reference?

var BigObject = (function() {
function deepCalculate(a, b, c) {
return a + b + c;
}
function calculate(x) {
deepCalculate(x, x, x);
}
return {
calculate: calculate,
api: {
deepCalculate: deepCalculate
}
}
})();
This is basic self executing function with private function I keep in api.
The problem I have is that now I can't overwrite deepCalculate from the outside of the function.
How is that a problem? I use Jasmine and want to test if function was called. For example:
spyOn(BigObject, 'calculate').andCallThrough();
expect(BigObject.api.deepCalculate).toHaveBeenCalled();
fails. However as I debug, I am sure that Jasmine binds BigObject.api.deepCalculate as a spy, however from the inside calculate still calls original deepCalculate function and not the spy.
I would like to know how can I overwrite the function and not just a reference for it.

The simple answer would be:
(function ()
{
var overWriteMe = function(foo)
{
return foo++;
},
overWrite = function(newFunc)
{
for (var p io returnVal)
{
if (returnVal[p] === overWriteMe)
{//update references
returnVal[p] = newFunc;
break;
}
}
overWriteMe = newFunc;//overwrite closure reference
},
returnVal = {
overWrite: overWrite,
myFunc: overWriteMe
};
}());
Though I must say that, I'd seriously think about alternative ways to acchieve whatever it is you're trying to do. A closure, IMO, should be treated as a whole. Replacing parts of it willy-nilly will soon prove to be a nightmare: you don't know what the closure function will be at any given point in time, where it was changed, what the previous state was, and why it was changed.
A temporary sollution might just be this:
var foo = (function()
{
var calc = function(x, callback)
{
callback = callback || defaultCall;
return callback.apply(this, [x]);
},
defaultCall(a)
{
return a*a+1;
},
return {calc: calc};
}());
foo(2);//returns 5
foo(2,function(x){ return --x;});//returns 1
foo(2);//returns 5 again
IMO, this is a lot safer, as it allows you to choose a different "internal" function to be used once, without changing the core behaviour of the code.

Calling function from array of objects

I'm trying to call a function from this:
var _coll = [new Obj('a', somefunction)];
function Obj(id, fn) {
this.id = id;
this.fn = fn;
}
var somefunction = (function () {
return {
innerFn: function (a) {
return a
}
}
})();
//this works
var test = new Obj('a', somefunction);
alert(test.fn.innerFn('test'));
//this is not working
loopArray();
function loopArray()
for (var it in _coll) {
for (var its in _coll[it]) {
var response = _coll[it].fn.innerFn('hey');
alert(response);
}
}
}
If I change _coll to "var test=new Obj('a','somefunction');", its ok, but how do I call a function?

Because at the point where you define _coll, the function somefunction is not yet defined.
If you move the call which defines somefunction to top of the code, it will work just fine.

First off you're using a for..in loop to access an array, which you should never do, but aside from that...
Within the first loop, _coll is the array so _coll[it] would be an element of that array. That element is your Obj object. Your second for..in loop is completely unnecessary and wrong. Surely you can see that you're doing something wrong, since you define a its variable that's never used...

Additionally to what Kolink said about the loop,
you need to move the line
var _coll = [new Obj('a', somefunction)];
behind the declaration of somefunction like you did with the line
var test = new Obj('a', somefunction);
or somefunction will be undefined.

Send a variable to a variable of a function?

Let's say I have a function and one of the parameters is for the name of the target variable.. Would it be possible for me to send a variable to the function like this:
function otherfunction(input){
...
}
function test {target) {
var x = 1;
target(x);
}
test(otherfunction);
The problem I have is that I'm making a greasemonkey script and one of the variable I need can't be returned from the function due to a limitation.. So this would be the alternative. I just don't know how to get it to work.. Any help would be much appreciated!!

Your example (almost) works:
function otherfunction(input){
alert(input);
}
function test(target) {
if(typeof target !== 'function') {
alert('target is not a function!');
return;
}
target(1); //invokes the passed-in function, passing in 1
}
test(otherfunction); //alerts 1
//You can also do it with an anonymous function too:
test(function(arg) {
alert(arg * 5);
}); //alerts 5
jsFiddle example

Javascript function hooks

EDIT: OK, I believe the following solutions are valid:
Use the jQuery AOP plugin. It basically wraps the old function together with the hook into a function sandwich and reassigns it to the old function name. This causes nesting of functions with each new added hook.
If jQuery is not usable for you, just pillage the source code, there did not seem to be any jQuery dependencies in the plugin, and the source is simple and very small.
Have an object describing all hooks and their targets and one to store the initial unmodified function. When adding a new hook, the wrapping would be redone around the original function, instead of re-wrap the the previous wrapping function.
You escape nested functions, and get two objects to handle instead. Potentially, this could also mean easier hook handling, if you add/remove hooks often and out of order.
I'll go with the first, since it's already done, and I don't have performance to worry about. And since the original functions are not affected, even if I switch hooking methods, I'll only need to redo the hook adding, which might be just some simple search&replace operations.
Hi,
Is it possible to create a mechanism, in which function A might have a set of hooks(functions that will execute before/after function A)?
Ideally, function A would not be aware of hooking functionality, so that I do not have to modify the source code of function A to call the hooks. Something like:
A = function(){
alert("I'm a naive function");
};
B = function(){
alert("I'm having a piggyback ride on function A!"+
"And the fool doesn't even know it!");
};
addHook(B, A)//add hook B to function A
A()
//getting alerts "I'm a naive function"/"I'm having a
//piggyback ride on function A! And the fool doesn't even know it!"
I've been trying to hack something up for a couple of hours, but so far no luck.

Might not be pretty but it seems to work...
<script>
function A(x) { alert(x); return x; }
function B() { alert(123); }
function addHook(functionB, functionA, parent)
{
if (typeof parent == 'undefined')
parent = window;
for (var i in parent)
{
if (parent[i] === functionA)
{
parent[i] = function()
{
functionB();
return functionA.apply(this, arguments)
}
break;
}
}
}
addHook(B, A);
A(2);
</script>

Take a look at jQuery's AOP plugin. In general, google "javascript aspect oriented programming".

Very simple answer:
function someFunction() { alert("Bar!") }
var placeholder=someFunction;
someFunction=function() {
alert("Foo?");
placeholder();
}

This answer is not definitive, but rather demonstrative of a different technique than those offered thus far. This leverages the fact that a function in Javascript is a first-class object, and as such, a) you can pass it as a value to another function and b) you can add properties to it. Combine these traits with function's built-in "call" (or "apply") methods, and you have yourself a start toward a solution.
var function_itself = function() {
alert('in function itself');
}
function_itself.PRE_PROCESS = function() {
alert('in pre_process');
}
function_itself.POST_PROCESS = function() {
alert('in post_process');
}
var function_processor = function(func) {
if (func.PRE_PROCESS) {
func.PRE_PROCESS.call();
}
func.call();
if (func.POST_PROCESS) {
func.POST_PROCESS.call();
}
}

The following function will give you before and after hooks that can be stacked. So if you have a number of potential functions that need to run before the given function or after the given function then this would be a working solution. This solution does not require jQuery and uses native array methods (no shims required). It should also be context sensitive so if you are calling the original function with a context if should run each before and after function likewise.
// usage:
/*
function test(x) {
alert(x);
}
var htest = hookable(test);
htest.addHook("before", function (x) {
alert("Before " + x);
})
htest.addHook("after", function (x) {
alert("After " + x);
})
htest("test") // => Before test ... test ... After test
*/
function hookable(fn) {
var ifn = fn,
hooks = {
before : [],
after : []
};
function hookableFunction() {
var args = [].slice.call(arguments, 0),
i = 0,
fn;
for (i = 0; !!hooks.before[i]; i += 1) {
fn = hooks.before[i];
fn.apply(this, args);
}
ifn.apply(this, arguments);
for (i = 0; !!hooks.after[i]; i++) {
fn = hooks.after[i];
fn.apply(this, args);
}
}
hookableFunction.addHook = function (type, fn) {
if (hooks[type] instanceof Array) {
hooks[type].push(fn);
} else {
throw (function () {
var e = new Error("Invalid hook type");
e.expected = Object.keys(hooks);
e.got = type;
return e;
}());
}
};
return hookableFunction;
}

Here's what I did, might be useful in other applications like this:
//Setup a hooking object
a={
hook:function(name,f){
aion.hooks[name]=f;
}
}a.hooks={
//default hooks (also sets the object)
};
//Add a hook
a.hook('test',function(){
alert('test');
});
//Apply each Hook (can be done with for)
$.each(a.hooks,function(index,f){
f();
});

I don't know if this will be useful. You do need to modify the original function but only once and you don't need to keep editing it for firing hooks
https://github.com/rcorp/hooker