Obscure JavaScript syntax

Question

...obscure to me, anyway. Can anyone tell me what this means? I have various bits of code that look like this:

node[foo](bar, function() { 
   ...do something to 'node'
});

'node' is a single DOM node. 'foo' and 'bar' are both strings, though the code sets 'bar' to a boolean occasionally. The 'do something' code is occasionally executed, but only (I think) if 'bar' is true. Thanks.

GolezTrol · Accepted Answer · 2012-03-21 16:41:25Z

3

node apparently has a property, of which the name is contained in foo. The property contains (or refers to) a function. This function is called with the value of bar and a callback function as its parameters.

Since objects can have extra properties assigned, a JavaScript library might set this 'foo' property of a node, even though it's not a native property of a DOM node. I believe JQuery uses this concept quite a lot.

answered Mar 21, 2012 at 16:41

GolezTrol

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1 Comment

EML Over a year ago

Thanks - it turns out that 'foo' was actually a jQuery function name.

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