Assign a user input string as a new variable name in javascript

Question

I have a text field in which the user inputs some text. I'd like to take the first word of that text and turn it into a global variable name for an object holding the rest of the string content. More string content will be added to object later, so internal indexing inside the object is required.

var textInput = $('#inputText').val();
var splitString = textInput.split(" ");
var firstWord = splitString[0];

This is where I get stuck. How please do I create a new object with the string referenced by firstWord as the object's reference?

Many thanks in advance.

An object doesn't have a name... Do you mean that you want to create a variable with that name, containing a reference to an object? Would it be a local or global variable? — Guffa
– Guffa, Commented Aug 7, 2013 at 11:42
Yes, that is what I mean't Guffa. I understand that eval is bad practice Serge? — KolKurtz
– KolKurtz, Commented Aug 7, 2013 at 11:44
eval is almost evil :) In the sense you should validate user input to prevent code injection… in your case It seems you just need to grab the first token of a string, operation that could be done quite safely… but… if you mean to pollute the global scope (i.e. windows) than… It should definitively a bad idea. — Lord of the Goo
– Lord of the Goo, Commented Aug 7, 2013 at 11:55

Jonah · Accepted Answer · 2013-08-07 12:09:17Z

2

I would try something like this:

globalUserObjects = {};

var textInput = $('#inputText').val();
var splitString = textInput.split(" ");
var firstWord = splitString[0];

globalUserObjects[firstWord] = {};

// Now later you can add stuff to it

globalUserObjects[firstWord]["firstName"] = "John";
globalUserObjects[firstWord]["lastName"] = "Smith";

answered Aug 7, 2013 at 12:09

Jonah

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2 Comments

KolKurtz Over a year ago

You are right of course. Thank you very much. I couldn't see the wood for the trees.

Jonah Over a year ago

No problem. Let me know if you have any followup questions.

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