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Common JavaScript Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them
Although JavaScript is a strong and flexible language, it has many challenges that could trip even experienced developers. This article will go over some typical JavaScript programming mistakes and suggest feasible solutions. Knowing these problems can help you to produce less error-prone, more efficient, and cleaner code.
1. Understanding this
Context
The Pitfall:
In JavaScript, this
can have unpredictable meaning. Depending on the calling for a function, this
can refer to multiple objects, which causes confusion and errors.
How to Avoid:
Use arrow functions where possible; they lexically connect this to the context in which they are defined. To specifically set the value of this
alternatively use .bind()
, .call()
, or .apply().
const obj = {
value: 42,
getValue: function() {
return this.value;
},
};
const getValue = obj.getValue;
console.log(getValue()); // Undefined
// Solution using bind
const boundGetValue = obj.getValue.bind(obj);
console.log(boundGetValue()); // 42