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11.

Fixing "this" with bind()

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So how can we fix this? If we're going to be fancy and use objects in JavaScript, I don't want to have to worry about whether or not this is actually this in each function! That's no way to live! Nope, I want to know confidently that inside of my whatIsThis function, this is my RepLogApp object... not a random array of pets and their noises.

More importantly, I want that same guarantee down in each callback function: I want to be absolutely sure that this is this object, exactly how we'd expect our methods to work.

And yes! This is possible: we can take back control! Create a new variable: var boundWhatIsThis = this.whatIsThis.bind(this):

134 lines | app/Resources/views/lift/index.html.twig
// ... lines 1 - 64
{% block javascripts %}
// ... lines 66 - 67
<script>
var RepLogApp = {
initialize: function($wrapper) {
// ... lines 71 - 81
var newThis = {cat: 'meow', dog: 'woof'};
var boundWhatIsThis = this.whatIsThis.bind(this);
// ... line 84
},
// ... lines 86 - 125
};
// ... lines 127 - 131
</script>
{% endblock %}

Just like call(), bind() is a method you can call on functions. You pass it what you want this to be - in this case our RepLogApp object - and it returns a new function that, when called, will always have this set to whatever you passed to bind(). Now, when we say boundWhatIsThis.call() and try to pass it an alternative this object, that will be ignored:

134 lines | app/Resources/views/lift/index.html.twig
// ... lines 1 - 64
{% block javascripts %}
// ... lines 66 - 67
<script>
var RepLogApp = {
initialize: function($wrapper) {
// ... lines 71 - 81
var newThis = {cat: 'meow', dog: 'woof'};
var boundWhatIsThis = this.whatIsThis.bind(this);
boundWhatIsThis.call(newThis, 'hello');
},
// ... lines 86 - 125
};
// ... lines 127 - 131
</script>
{% endblock %}

Try it out: refresh! Yes! Now this is this again!

Binding all of our Listener Functions

Delete that debug code. Now that we have a way to guarantee the value of this, all we need to do is repeat the trick on any listener functions. In practice, that means that whenever you register an event handling function, you should call .bind(this). Add it to both event listeners:

127 lines | app/Resources/views/lift/index.html.twig
// ... lines 1 - 64
{% block javascripts %}
// ... lines 66 - 67
<script>
var RepLogApp = {
initialize: function($wrapper) {
// ... lines 71 - 72
this.$wrapper.find('.js-delete-rep-log').on(
// ... line 74
this.handleRepLogDelete.bind(this)
);
this.$wrapper.find('tbody tr').on(
// ... line 78
this.handleRowClick.bind(this)
);
},
// ... lines 82 - 118
};
// ... lines 120 - 124
</script>
{% endblock %}

Replacing this in Event Listeners

But wait! That's going to totally mess up our function: we're relying on this: expecting it to be the DOM Element object that was clicked! Dang! But no problem, because we already learned that this is equal to e.currentTarget. Fix the problem by adding var $link = $(e.currentTarget):

127 lines | app/Resources/views/lift/index.html.twig
// ... lines 1 - 64
{% block javascripts %}
// ... lines 66 - 67
<script>
var RepLogApp = {
// ... lines 70 - 90
handleRepLogDelete: function(e) {
e.preventDefault();
var $link = $(e.currentTarget);
// ... lines 95 - 113
},
// ... lines 115 - 118
};
// ... lines 120 - 124
</script>
{% endblock %}

Now just change the $(this) to $link:

127 lines | app/Resources/views/lift/index.html.twig
// ... lines 1 - 64
{% block javascripts %}
// ... lines 66 - 67
<script>
var RepLogApp = {
// ... lines 70 - 90
handleRepLogDelete: function(e) {
// ... lines 92 - 93
var $link = $(e.currentTarget);
$link.addClass('text-danger');
$link.find('.fa')
// ... lines 98 - 101
var deleteUrl = $link.data('url');
var $row = $link.closest('tr');
// ... lines 104 - 113
},
// ... lines 115 - 118
};
// ... lines 120 - 124
</script>
{% endblock %}

And life is good!

Try it out! Refresh, click, and winning!

Finally, we can fix something that's been bothering me. Instead of saying RepLogApp, I want to use this. We talked earlier about how RepLogApp is kind of like a static object, and just like in PHP, when something is static, you can reference it by its object name, or really, class name in PHP.

Always Referencing this, instead of RepLogApp

But that's not going to be true forever: in a few minutes, we're going to learn how to design objects that you can instantiate, meaning we could have many RepLogApp objects. For example, we could have five tables on our page and instantiate five separate RepLogApp objects, one for each table. Once we do that, we won't be able to simply reference our object with RepLogApp anymore, because we might have five of them. But if we always reference our object internally with this, it'll be future proof: working now, and also after we make things fancier.

Of course, the problem is that inside of the callback, this won't be our RepLogApp object anymore. How could we fix this? There are two options. First, we could bind our success function to this. Then, now that this is our RepLogApp object inside of success, we could also bind our fadeOut callback to this. Finally, that would let us call this.updateTotalWeightLifted().

But wow, that's a lot of work, and it'll be a bit ugly! Instead, there's a simpler way. First, realize that whenever you have an anonymous function, you could refactor it into an individual method on your object. If we did that, then I would recommend binding that function so that this is the RepLogApp object inside.

But if that feels like overkill and you want to keep using anonymous functions, then simply go above the callback and add var self = this:

128 lines | app/Resources/views/lift/index.html.twig
// ... lines 1 - 64
{% block javascripts %}
// ... lines 66 - 67
<script>
var RepLogApp = {
// ... lines 70 - 90
handleRepLogDelete: function(e) {
// ... lines 92 - 103
var self = this;
$.ajax({
// ... lines 106 - 113
});
},
// ... lines 116 - 119
};
// ... lines 121 - 125
</script>
{% endblock %}

The variable self is not important in any way - I just made that up. So, it doesn't change inside of callback functions, which means we can say self.updateTotalWeightLifted():

128 lines | app/Resources/views/lift/index.html.twig
// ... lines 1 - 64
{% block javascripts %}
// ... lines 66 - 67
<script>
var RepLogApp = {
// ... lines 70 - 90
handleRepLogDelete: function(e) {
// ... lines 92 - 103
var self = this;
$.ajax({
// ... lines 106 - 107
success: function() {
$row.fadeOut('normal', function() {
// ... line 110
self.updateTotalWeightLifted();
});
}
});
},
// ... lines 116 - 119
};
// ... lines 121 - 125
</script>
{% endblock %}

Try that! Ah, it works great.

So there are two important takeaways:

  1. Use bind() to make sure that this is always this inside any methods in your object.
  2. Make sure to reference your object with this, instead of your object's name. This isn't an absolute rule, but unless you know what you're doing, this will give you more flexibility in the long-run.