How to tell if two objects are identical?

Question

I mean not equal, but literally one....two things pointing to the same place in memory.

For example, a and b here should theoretically be identical...b is a sort of pointer to a.

var a = function(){alert("hi");}

var b = a;

=== is not the answer....two things can be the same in every way but not literally the same object in memory.

Edit: === IS the answer! Silly me.

Do either of these help: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1068834/object-comparison-in-javascript and http://stackoverflow.com/questions/201183/how-do-you-determine-equality-for-two-javascript-objects — j08691, Feb 08 '14 at 23:25
There is no built-in operator for evaluating the "*similarity*" of 2 distinct objects. `a === b` evaluates whether `a` and `b` are references to the exact same object. — Jonathan Lonowski, Feb 08 '14 at 23:25
If `===` is not the answer (which it is) then there is no answer. Or lets say the answer is: There is no way. — Felix Kling, Feb 08 '14 at 23:31
actually there is no identical objects which === can not cover them. I have used it for the very same use, and it worked — Mehran Hatami, Feb 09 '14 at 00:03

score 2 · Answer 1 · answered Feb 08 '14 at 23:24

2

An expression comparing Objects is only true if the operands reference the same Object.

answered Feb 08 '14 at 23:24

matthewk

Oh...and that is the piece I did not know about the `===` operator...turns out it IS the answer! – temporary_user_name Feb 08 '14 at 23:35
1

Because the code example is exactly what I needed to see to be sure! Hard code is much more persuasive than documentation, although together the two answers are 100% complete. If you're on SO for the rep, btw, you need a hobby. – temporary_user_name Feb 08 '14 at 23:37

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Feb 08 '14 at 23:27

1

Two identical objects never return true when compared. They really have to be "one".

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answered Feb 08 '14 at 23:27

ElDoRado1239

May I note for additional clarity for future readers that `a = {val: 1}; b = a;` yields `b === a` as `true`. – temporary_user_name Feb 08 '14 at 23:36

2 Answers2