Question

I have the following javascript method:

function 123_test_function(){

}

The function is generated by java and sent to the client. The 123 is the id of the component so it could change. i.e I can have another function called 111_test_function()
I want to pass this function as a reference.

So I need to create the reference

var 123_test_function = function 123_test_function(){

}

In another js file inside an object I have a function that needs to use the 123_test_function reference like so:

useFunction(123_test_function);

The problem I’m having is which the 123 part of the function.
In this object I have a variable(uniqueID) which has the number at the beginning of the function.
I need the function call to be something like:

useFunction(uniqueID+"_test_function");

This doesn’t seem to pass a function instead it passes a string.
Am I doing something wrong?

Answer 1

For one, identifiers (such as function names) cannot begin with a digit.

To solve your problem, use an object, like this:

// 1. define an object to hold all your functions
var allFunctions = {};

// 2. store any function with a unique string as the ID
allFunctions['123_test_function'] = function () {
  // whatever
};

// 3. call the function
allFunctions['123_test_function']();
allFunctions[uniqueID + '_test_function']();

Objects are associative arrays. They store key/values pairs, so they do exactly what you want here.

Note that functions don’t need a name in JavaScript, so I did not use on in step 2.