Function expression
The function
keyword can be used to define a function inside an expression.
You can also define functions using the Function
constructor and a function declaration.
Syntax
The expression is not allowed at the start of a statement.
function [name]([param1[, param2[, ..., paramN]]]) {
statements
}
As of ES2015, you can also use arrow functions.
Parameters
name
Optional-
The function name. Can be omitted, in which case the function is anonymous. The name is only local to the function body.
paramN
Optional-
The name of an argument to be passed to the function.
statements
Optional-
The statements which comprise the body of the function.
Description
A function expression is very similar to and has almost the same syntax as a function declaration (see function
statement for details).
The main difference between a function expression and a function declaration is the function name, which can be omitted in function expressions to create anonymous functions.
A function expression can be used as an IIFE (Immediately Invoked Function Expression) which runs as soon as it is defined. See also the chapter about functions for more information.
Function expression hoisting
Function expressions in JavaScript are not hoisted, unlike function declarations. You can't use function expressions before you create them:
console.log(notHoisted) // undefined
// even though the variable name is hoisted, the definition isn't. so it's undefined.
notHoisted(); // TypeError: notHoisted is not a function
var notHoisted = function() {
console.log('bar');
};
Named function expression
If you want to refer to the current function inside the function body, you need to create a named function expression.
This name is then local only to the function body (scope).
This also avoids using the non-standard arguments.callee
property.
let math = {
'factit': function factorial(n) {
console.log(n)
if (n <= 1) {
return 1;
}
return n * factorial(n - 1);
}
};
math.factit(3) //3;2;1;
The variable to which the function expression is assigned will have a name
property.
The name doesn't change if it's assigned to a different variable.
If function name is omitted, it will be the variable name (implicit name).
If function name is present, it will be the function name (explicit name).
This also applies to arrow functions
(arrows don't have a name so you can only give the variable an implicit name).
var foo = function() {}
foo.name // "foo"
var foo2 = foo
foo2.name // "foo"
var bar = function baz() {}
bar.name // "baz"
console.log(foo === foo2); // true
console.log(typeof baz); // undefined
console.log(bar === baz); // false (errors because baz == undefined)
Examples
Creating an unnamed function
The following example defines an unnamed function and assigns it to x
.
The function returns the square of its argument:
var x = function(y) {
return y * y;
};
Using a function as a callback
More commonly it is used as a callback:
button.addEventListener('click', function(event) {
console.log('button is clicked!')
})
Using an Immediately Invoked Function Expression (IIFE)
An anonymous function is created and called:
(function() {
console.log('Code runs!')
})();
// or
!function() {
console.log('Code runs!')
}();
Specifications
Specification |
---|
ECMAScript Language Specification # sec-function-definitions |
Browser compatibility
Report problems with this compatibility data on GitHubdesktop | mobile | server | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
function expression | ChromeFull support1 | EdgeFull support12 | FirefoxFull support1 | Internet ExplorerFull support3 | OperaFull support3 | SafariFull support1 | WebView AndroidFull support1 | Chrome AndroidFull support18 | Firefox for AndroidFull support4 | Opera AndroidFull support10.1 | Safari on iOSFull support1 | Samsung InternetFull support1.0 | DenoFull support1.0 | Node.jsFull support0.10.0 |
Trailing comma in parameters | ChromeFull support58 | EdgeFull support14 | FirefoxFull support52 | Internet ExplorerNo supportNo | OperaFull support45 | SafariFull support10 | WebView AndroidFull support58 | Chrome AndroidFull support58 | Firefox for AndroidFull support52 | Opera AndroidFull support43 | Safari on iOSFull support10 | Samsung InternetFull support7.0 | DenoFull support1.0 | Node.jsFull support8.0.0 |
Legend
- Full support
- Full support
- No support
- No support
See also
- Arrow functions
- Functions
Function
function
statementfunction*
statementfunction*
expressionGeneratorFunction
- async function
- async function expression