Question

I have a function which binds different form inputs

function bindInputs() {
    $(".inputContainer").each(function(i){
        var inputContainer = $(this),
            input = $("input.input", inputContainer),
            inputType = inputContainer.attr("data-inputType"),
            input_Id = inputContainer.attr("id").replace("inputContainer_", "");


        if(inputType == "TextEditor") {
            input.unbind("change").bind("change", function() {
                inputContainer.removeClass("nullValue");
                var value = input.val();
                saveInputValue(input_Id, value);
            });

            return true;
        }

        if(inputType == "NumericEditor") {
            input.numeric({ allow: "." });
            input.unbind("change").bind("change", function() {
                inputContainer.removeClass("nullValue");
                var value = getNumericValue(input.val());
                saveInputValue(input_Id, value);
            });
        }

        // so on
    });
};

Is this function creating memory leaks? The thing i am worried about is that i keep all the shared variables on top and use them inside “change” callback functions.

Would make a difference if i re-calculate the shared variables on the callback functions?

if(inputType == "TextEditor") {
    input.unbind("change").bind("change", function() {
        var elem = $(this),
            inputContainer = elem.closest(".inputContainer"),
            input_Id = inputContainer.attr("id").replace("inputContainer_", "");

        inputContainer.removeClass("nullValue");
        var value = input.val();
        saveInputValue(input_Id, value);
    });

    return true;
}

Answer 1

It’s not creating leaks. It is preserving those variables in memory for as long as those functions are in memory.

Whether you want to do that is up to you, it’s a trade-off. For a change handler, the overhead of re-querying the DOM is minimal so you might go with your second example, although the actual memory impact of what you’re retaining in that example is fairly minimal. In a mousemove handler, you’d probably go the other way, because mousemove handlers need to do their work very quickly.

Re your question in the comments below:

Saying that i will chose the second approach, how i will prevent the browser to save the top variables? I set them to null at the end of the function?

If you’re going to make the functions not rely on anything in the bindInputs function, define them outside of it entirely. Then you’re not creating any closures at all over the context of the call to bindInputs, and that context can be GC’d (along with any variables it contains). Setting variables to null or undefined just sets them to null or undefined, it doesn’t get rid of them. (Although at that point, the context containing them is pretty small. Just three or four vars that don’t reference anything in particular.)

Here’s what that might look like:

function bindInputs() {
    $(".inputContainer").each(function(i){
        var inputContainer = $(this),
            input = $("input.input", inputContainer),
            inputType = inputContainer.attr("data-inputType");


        if(inputType == "TextEditor") {
            input.unbind("change").bind("change", handleTextEditorChange);

            return true;
        }

        if(inputType == "NumericEditor") {
            input.numeric({ allow: "." });
            input.unbind("change").bind("change", handleNumericEditorChange);
        }

        // so on
    });
}

function handleTextEditorChange() {
    // ...implementation...
}

function handleNumericEditorChange() {
    // ...implementation...
}