Function to get function name inside function?

Question

To get a function's name inside a function I can use this code:

function getmyname() {
    var myName = arguments.callee.toString();
    myName = myName.substr('function '.length);
    myName = myName.substr(0, myName.indexOf('('));
    alert(myName); // getmyname
}

however I need to run this a lot of times, so I'd rather use a function that does it, so it would look like:

function getmyname() {
    alert(getfname()); // getmyname
}

so getfname() would get the name. How can this be done?

Read this: Why was the arguments.callee.caller property deprecated in JavaScript? — epascarello
– epascarello, Commented Dec 7, 2012 at 0:52
Probably also worth asking yourself if you really need to do that. — Evan Trimboli
– Evan Trimboli, Commented Dec 7, 2012 at 0:53
What would getfname() do with the name? Just return it? If so, why wouldn't you just reference the name in the first place? — I Hate Lazy
– I Hate Lazy, Commented Dec 7, 2012 at 0:54

VisioN · Accepted Answer · 2012-12-07 00:51:41Z

1

You may pass local arguments to getmyname function and use callee.name instead of parsing:

function getmyname(args) {
    return args.callee.name;
}

function getname() {
    alert(getmyname(arguments));
}

getname();  // "getname"

answered Dec 7, 2012 at 0:51

VisioN

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3 Comments

Stuart Over a year ago

And it's worth pointing out that, since the parsing in the OP's code is not needed, there's really no need to have a separate getmyname function - just use alert(args.callee.name)

VisioN Over a year ago

@Stuart Yes, alert(arguments.callee.name) to be precise. However, I just follow the OP's question.

lisovaccaro Over a year ago

Thank you for the clarification, I didn't know you could just use that. The answer is right though.

jAndy · Accepted Answer · 2012-12-07 00:50:55Z

0

.name is a property which function objects own.

function getmyname() {
    return arguments.callee.name;
}

function getname() {
    alert(getmyname());
}

getname(); // alerts "getmyname"

A word of caution:

arguments.callee alongside other properties, is obsolete in ECMAscript5 strict mode and will throw an error when accessed. So we would need to return getmyname.name, which is obviously not really elegant because we could directly return that string

answered Dec 7, 2012 at 0:50

jAndy

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