Question

    ,debouncedAjax: _.debounce(_.bind(myFunction, this), 2000)

,request: function(requestParams, response){
    this.debouncedAjax(requestParams, response);
}

when I can request, I get this

Uncaught TypeError: Cannot call method ‘apply’ of undefined
(anonymous function)

If i set the result of that debounce function on the debouncedAjax property like this

    ,initialize: function() {               
      this.debouncedAjax = _.debounce(this.imoveisAjaxRequest, 2000);           
    }

It works fine !

WHY ?

BTW: debounce is a function from the AMAZING underscore.js framework !

Answer 1

As so many things in Javascript, it comes down to what the this pointer means.

In the first instance, you’re probably defining a class prototype. If not explicity, then inside a Backbone.something.extend() call, which is the same thing. At that point, you’re binding a function with _.bind(myFunction, this). So what does the this pointer refer to at that point? It’s certainly not any particular instance of the object, because they haven’t been created yet. It’s probably either window or something in the Backbone framework.

When you call that function in the initialize function, the this pointer means what you want it to, so everything works out as you want it to.