Question

Is this a good way to garbage collect

function getFile() {
    var xhr = new XMLHttpRequest();
    xhr.onload = function() {
        //do stuff
        delete(xhr)
    };
}

and then call getFile() a couple of times

(I’ve edited it to use a function)

How would I get rid of xhr when it’s done. I’m just a bit confused on whether its ok to remove xhr from within a function of itself

Answer 1

You should use scoping to do the trick for you. In JavaScript scope is defined by the function statement. Variables that are defined within a function will be deleted automatically when the function goes out of scope (and you did not use the variable in a closure)

So in your case:

function scope() {
  var xhr = new XMLHttpRequest();
  xhr.onload = function() {
    //do stuff
  };
}