1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
|
---
title: Function
slug: Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Function
tags:
- Constructor
- Function
- JavaScript
- NeedsTranslation
- TopicStub
translation_of: Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Function
---
<div>{{JSRef}}</div>
<p>The <strong><code>Function</code> constructor</strong> creates a new <code>Function</code> object. In JavaScript every function is actually a <code>Function</code> object.</p>
<h2 id="Syntax">Syntax</h2>
<pre class="syntaxbox"><code>new Function ([<var>arg1</var>[, <var>arg2</var>[, ...<var>argN</var>]],] <var>functionBody</var>)</code></pre>
<h3 id="Parameters">Parameters</h3>
<dl>
<dt><code>arg1, arg2, ... arg<em>N</em></code></dt>
<dd>Names to be used by the function as formal argument names. Each must be a string that corresponds to a valid JavaScript identifier or a list of such strings separated with a comma; for example "<code>x</code>", "<code>theValue</code>", or "<code>a,b</code>".</dd>
<dt><code>functionBody</code></dt>
<dd>A string containing the JavaScript statements comprising the function definition.</dd>
</dl>
<h2 id="Description">Description</h2>
<p><code>Function</code> objects created with the <code>Function</code> constructor are parsed when the function is created. This is less efficient than declaring a function with a <a href="/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Operators/function">function expression</a> or <a href="/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Statements/function">function statement</a> and calling it within your code, because such functions are parsed with the rest of the code.</p>
<p>All arguments passed to the function are treated as the names of the identifiers of the parameters in the function to be created, in the order in which they are passed.</p>
<div class="note">
<p><strong>Note:</strong> Functions created with the <code>Function</code> constructor do not create closures to their creation contexts; they always are created in the global scope. When running them, they will only be able to access their own local variables and global ones, not the ones from the scope in which the <code>Function</code> constructor was called. This is different from using {{jsxref("eval")}} with code for a function expression.</p>
</div>
<p>Invoking the <code>Function</code> constructor as a function (without using the <code>new</code> operator) has the same effect as invoking it as a constructor.</p>
<h2 id="Properties_and_Methods_of_Function">Properties and Methods of <code>Function</code></h2>
<p>The global <code>Function</code> object has no methods or properties of its own, however, since it is a function itself it does inherit some methods and properties through the prototype chain from {{jsxref("Function.prototype")}}.</p>
<h2 id="Function_prototype_object"><code>Function</code> prototype object</h2>
<h3 id="Properties">Properties</h3>
<div>{{page('/en-US/docs/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Function/prototype', 'Properties')}}</div>
<h3 id="Methods">Methods</h3>
<div>{{page('/en-US/docs/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Function/prototype', 'Methods')}}</div>
<h2 id="Function_instances"><code>Function</code> instances</h2>
<p><code>Function</code> instances inherit methods and properties from {{jsxref("Function.prototype")}}. As with all constructors, you can change the constructor's prototype object to make changes to all <code>Function</code> instances.</p>
<h2 id="Examples">Examples</h2>
<h3 id="Specifying_arguments_with_the_Function_constructor">Specifying arguments with the <code>Function</code> constructor</h3>
<p>The following code creates a <code>Function</code> object that takes two arguments.</p>
<pre class="brush: js">// Example can be run directly in your JavaScript console
// Create a function that takes two arguments and returns the sum of those arguments
var adder = new Function('a', 'b', 'return a + b');
// Call the function
adder(2, 6);
// > 8
</pre>
<p>The arguments "<code>a</code>" and "<code>b</code>" are formal argument names that are used in the function body, "<code>return a + b</code>".</p>
<h3 id="A_recursive_shortcut_to_massively_modify_the_DOM">A recursive shortcut to massively modify the DOM</h3>
<p>Creating functions with the <code>Function</code> constructor is one of the ways to dynamically create an indeterminate number of new objects with some executable code into the global scope from a function. The following example (a recursive shortcut to massively modify the DOM) is impossible without the invocation of the <code>Function</code> constructor for each new query if you want to avoid closures.</p>
<pre class="brush: html"><!doctype html>
<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />
<title>MDN Example - a recursive shortcut to massively modify the DOM</title>
<script type="text/javascript">
var domQuery = (function() {
var aDOMFunc = [
Element.prototype.removeAttribute,
Element.prototype.setAttribute,
CSSStyleDeclaration.prototype.removeProperty,
CSSStyleDeclaration.prototype.setProperty
];
function setSomething(bStyle, sProp, sVal) {
var bSet = Boolean(sVal), fAction = aDOMFunc[bSet | bStyle << 1],
aArgs = Array.prototype.slice.call(arguments, 1, bSet ? 3 : 2),
aNodeList = bStyle ? this.cssNodes : this.nodes;
if (bSet && bStyle) { aArgs.push(''); }
for (
var nItem = 0, nLen = this.nodes.length;
nItem < nLen;
fAction.apply(aNodeList[nItem++], aArgs)
);
this.follow = setSomething.caller;
return this;
}
function setStyles(sProp, sVal) { return setSomething.call(this, true, sProp, sVal); }
function setAttribs(sProp, sVal) { return setSomething.call(this, false, sProp, sVal); }
function getSelectors() { return this.selectors; };
function getNodes() { return this.nodes; };
return (function(sSelectors) {
var oQuery = new Function('return arguments.callee.follow.apply(arguments.callee, arguments);');
oQuery.selectors = sSelectors;
oQuery.nodes = document.querySelectorAll(sSelectors);
oQuery.cssNodes = Array.prototype.map.call(oQuery.nodes, function(oInlineCSS) { return oInlineCSS.style; });
oQuery.attributes = setAttribs;
oQuery.inlineStyle = setStyles;
oQuery.follow = getNodes;
oQuery.toString = getSelectors;
oQuery.valueOf = getNodes;
return oQuery;
});
})();
</script>
</head>
<body>
<div class="testClass">Lorem ipsum</div>
<p>Some text</p>
<div class="testClass">dolor sit amet</div>
<script type="text/javascript">
domQuery('.testClass')
.attributes('lang', 'en')('title', 'Risus abundat in ore stultorum')
.inlineStyle('background-color', 'black')('color', 'white')('width', '100px')('height', '50px');
</script>
</body>
</html>
</pre>
<h2 id="Specifications">Specifications</h2>
<table class="standard-table">
<tbody>
<tr>
<th scope="col">Specification</th>
<th scope="col">Status</th>
<th scope="col">Comment</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>{{SpecName('ES1')}}</td>
<td>{{Spec2('ES1')}}</td>
<td>Initial definition. Implemented in JavaScript 1.0.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>{{SpecName('ES5.1', '#sec-15.3', 'Function')}}</td>
<td>{{Spec2('ES5.1')}}</td>
<td> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>{{SpecName('ES6', '#sec-function-objects', 'Function')}}</td>
<td>{{Spec2('ES6')}}</td>
<td> </td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<h2 id="Browser_compatibility">Browser compatibility</h2>
<div>{{CompatibilityTable}}</div>
<div id="compat-desktop">
<table class="compat-table">
<tbody>
<tr>
<th>Feature</th>
<th>Chrome</th>
<th>Firefox (Gecko)</th>
<th>Internet Explorer</th>
<th>Opera</th>
<th>Safari</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Basic support</td>
<td>{{CompatVersionUnknown}}</td>
<td>{{CompatVersionUnknown}}</td>
<td>{{CompatVersionUnknown}}</td>
<td>{{CompatVersionUnknown}}</td>
<td>{{CompatVersionUnknown}}</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div>
<div id="compat-mobile">
<table class="compat-table">
<tbody>
<tr>
<th>Feature</th>
<th>Android</th>
<th>Chrome for Android</th>
<th>Firefox Mobile (Gecko)</th>
<th>IE Mobile</th>
<th>Opera Mobile</th>
<th>Safari Mobile</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Basic support</td>
<td>{{CompatVersionUnknown}}</td>
<td>{{CompatVersionUnknown}}</td>
<td>{{CompatVersionUnknown}}</td>
<td>{{CompatVersionUnknown}}</td>
<td>{{CompatVersionUnknown}}</td>
<td>{{CompatVersionUnknown}}</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div>
<h2 id="See_also">See also</h2>
<ul>
<li>{{jsxref("Functions", "Functions and function scope")}}</li>
<li>{{jsxref("Function")}}</li>
<li>{{jsxref("Statements/function", "function statement")}}</li>
<li>{{jsxref("Operators/function", "function expression")}}</li>
<li>{{jsxref("Statements/function*", "function* statement")}}</li>
<li>{{jsxref("Operators/function*", "function* expression")}}</li>
<li>{{jsxref("GeneratorFunction")}}</li>
</ul>
|