Getting the name of variable which holds an object, from the function resides in the object

Question

Suppose an object is declared as follows

var object1 = {
    getName: function() {
        alert(name)
    }
};

Is there a way to alert "object1" from getName?

Let me just ask - **why** do you need the name of the variable? *Usually*, if you *need* the name, you're probably doing something "wrong" — Ian, Jul 29 '14 at 14:24
You could always add a variable to the object `name: 'object1',`, but yeah, Ian asks the right question. — Andy, Jul 29 '14 at 14:26
What should it return if `obj1 = obj2 = obj3 = { ... }`. I'd say you are approaching the problem (whatever that is) incorrectly. — techfoobar, Jul 29 '14 at 14:29

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered Jul 29 '14 at 14:30

2

If you declare an object like object literal then the answer is no, you can't get variable name. You can however declare it using constuctor:

function Obj() {
    this.getName = function() {
        console.log(this.constructor.name);
    }
}
new Obj().getName(); // "Obj"

answered Jul 29 '14 at 14:30

dfsq

3

I was heading in this direction, but this only returns the constructor name and not the name of the instance which I think is what the OP is after. – Andy Jul 29 '14 at 14:33
@Andy I think you are right. Will delete it, once OP make it clear what he wants. – dfsq Jul 29 '14 at 14:34
I'd guess that the OP is attempting to mimic Java's `getName()` function (which returns the name of a class via reflection), but is confused about how "classes" are implemented in JS. I think you've given the best answer that could be given to such a question. – JDB Jul 29 '14 at 14:37

1 Answers1