A possible way to avoid to (easily) modify javascript variables from the browser console is to either use the get operator (ECMAScript 5) or a getter-function.
To make it possible to define "private" variables, an anonymous function defines the variables in the local scope, so that it is not globally available. (as mentioned in joews' answer)
As mentioned before, this does not make it impossible to manipulate the variables.
Via get operator:
window.app = (function () {
var _foo = 123; // private variable
return {
get foo () { return _foo; }
};
}());
// --- accessing app from the console ---
// app.foo is readable from console, but not modifiable
console.log(app.foo);
app.foo = 234;
console.log(app.foo); // 123
// However, app.foo can still be modified via Object.defineProperty or
// removed with the delete operator
Via getter-function (older browsers, e.g IE < 9):
window.app = (function () {
var _foo = 123; // private variable
return {
foo: function() { return _foo; }
};
}());
// --- accessing app from the console ---
console.log(app.foo()); // 123
// However, the foo function can still be overwritten.
// But at least, the internal _foo variable is unaffected.
app.foo = function () { return 234; }