Does javascript function know its name

Question

I have a function called getItem. I want to read the name of this function using code from within it. Is this possible?

function getItem(){ 
   var functionName =   //how do I read the function name;
   alert(functionName)  //outputs 'getItem'
}

Who says a function even has to have a name? After all, javascript has great support for un-named functions. — Joel Coehoorn
– Joel Coehoorn, Commented Apr 8, 2011 at 18:51
@Joel Coehoorn, I know what you mean, but this function has a name because I made sure to give it one. Is there a way to get that name from within the function? — jarn
– jarn, Commented Apr 8, 2011 at 18:52
What problem are you trying to solve? Are you writing a testing framework and injecting this code into other functions? There might be a way to solve your problem without requiring the name of a function. — Dan Davies Brackett
– Dan Davies Brackett, Commented Apr 8, 2011 at 18:56
possible duplicate of Can I get the name of the currently running function in javascript? — Naftali
– Naftali, Commented Apr 8, 2011 at 19:04
Possible duplicate of Can I get the name of the currently running function in JavaScript? — Michael Freidgeim
– Michael Freidgeim, Commented May 11, 2019 at 22:58

Community · Accepted Answer · 2017-05-23 11:55:26Z

3

try this:

function getItem(){ 
   var functionName =   arguments.callee.name;
   alert(functionName)  //outputs 'getItem'
}

here is the fiddle: http://jsfiddle.net/maniator/xGzKA/

also see this previous stack Q for another solution

edited May 23, 2017 at 11:55

CommunityBot

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answered Apr 8, 2011 at 18:53

Naftali

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7 Comments

Dan Davies Brackett Over a year ago

arguments.callee is deprecated in strict JS, just as a point of note.

Naftali Over a year ago

@Shadow Wizard, in IE you have to use the solution in the other stack Q

user447356 Over a year ago

@Neal you better add this to the answer then. IE8 still has fair share.. :)

Naftali Over a year ago

@Shadow Wizard its already there. i show the other solutions local :-P

Aleadam Over a year ago

@DDavies maybe you can explain me then this phrase from MDC: "JavaScript 1.4: Deprecated callee as a property of Function.arguments, retained it as a property of a function's local arguments variable." (not trying to be a d**k here, I truly don't understand in which situations is deprecated and in which is not)

|

Brett Zamir · Accepted Answer · 2011-04-08 19:50:48Z

0

Though you should probably not use this, you can do this for IE, Firefox, Chrome, Safari, and Opera (I admit arguments.callee is convenient despite the valid reservations expressed about it, as would be arguments.callee.name if the Function.name property were standard):

function getFuncName (fn) {
    var name = (/\W*function\s+([\w\$]+)\s*\(/).exec(fn);
    return name ? name[1] : '(Anonymous)';
}

answered Apr 8, 2011 at 19:50

Brett Zamir

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Comments

Aravindan R · Accepted Answer · 2011-04-08 18:55:29Z

-1

Try this,

function getItem(){
    var functionName =  arguments.callee.name;
    alert(functionName);
}

http://jsfiddle.net/XPGxE/

answered Apr 8, 2011 at 18:55

Aravindan R

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2 Comments

KooiInc Over a year ago

see stackoverflow.com/questions/103598/…

Aravindan R Over a year ago

@Neal Didnt mean to copy. I posted the same answer almost the same time as you. Saw your answer only after posting.

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