Javascript: Creating Functions in a For Loop

Question

Recently, I found myself needing to create an array of functions. The functions use values from an XML document, and I am running through the appropriate nodes with a for loop. However, upon doing this, I found that only the last node of the XML sheet (corresponding to the last run of the for loop) was ever used by all of the functions in the array.

The following is an example that showcases this:

var numArr = [];
var funArr = [];
for(var i = 0; i < 10; ++i){
    numArr[numArr.length] = i;
    funArr[funArr.length] = function(){  return i; };
}

window.alert("Num: " + numArr[5] + "\nFun: " + funArr[5]());

The output is Num: 5 and Fun: 10.

Upon research, I found a a segment of code that works, but I am struggling to understand precisely why it works. I reproduced it here using my example:

var funArr2 = [];
for(var i = 0; i < 10; ++i)
    funArr2[funArr2.length] = (function(i){ return function(){ return i;}})(i);

window.alert("Fun 2: " + funArr2[5]());

I know it has to do with scoping, but at first glance it does not seem like it would perform any differently from my naive approach. I am somewhat of a beginner in Javascript, so if I may ask, why is it that using this function-returning-a-function technique bypasses the scoping issue? Also, why is the (i) included on the end?

Thank you very much in advance.

Answer 1

The second method is a little clearer if you use a parameter name that does not mask the loop variable name:

funArr[funArr.length] = (function(val) { return function(){  return val; }})(i);

The problem with your current code is that each function is a closure and they all reference the same variable i. When each function is run, it returns the value of i at the time the function is run (which will be one more than the limit value for the loop).

A clearer way would be to write a separate function that returns the closure that you want:

var numArr = [];
var funArr = [];
for(var i = 0; i < 10; ++i){
    numArr[numArr.length] = i;
    funArr[funArr.length] = getFun(i);
}

function getFun(val) {
    return function() { return val; };
}

Note that this is doing basically the same thing as the first line of code in my answer: calling a function that returns a function and passing the value of i as a parameter. It's main advantage is clarity.

EDIT: Now that EcmaScript 6 is supported almost everywhere (sorry, IE users), you can get by with a simpler approach—use the let keyword instead of var for the loop variable:

var numArr = [];
var funArr = [];
for(let i = 0; i < 10; ++i){
    numArr[numArr.length] = i;
    funArr[funArr.length] = function(){  return i; };
}

With that little change, each funArr element is a closure bound do a different i object on each loop iteration. For more info on let, see this Mozilla Hacks post from 2015. (If you're targeting environments that don't support let, stick with what I wrote earlier, or run this last through a transpiler before using.

Answer 2

Let's investigate what the code does a little closer and assign imaginary function names:

(function outer(i) { 
    return function inner() { 
        return i;
    }
 })(i);

Here, outer receives an argument i. JavaScript employs function scoping, meaning that each variable exists only within the function it is defined in. i here is defined in outer, and therefore exists in outer (and any scopes enclosed within).

inner contains a reference to the variable i. (Note that it does not redefine i as a parameter or with the var keyword!) JavaScript's scoping rules state that such a reference should be tied to the first enclosing scope, which here is the scope of outer. Therefore, i within inner refers to the same i that was within outer.

Finally, after defining the function outer, we immediately call it, passing it the value i (which is a separate variable, defined in the outermost scope). The value i is enclosed within outer, and its value cannot now be changed by any code within the outermost scope. Thus, when the outermost i is incremented in the for loop, the i within outer keeps the same value.

Remembering that we've actually created a number of anonymous functions, each with its own scope and argument values, it is hopefully clear how it is that each of these anonymous functions retains its own value for i.

Finally, for completeness, let's examine what happened with the original code:

for(var i = 0; i < 10; ++i){
    numArr[numArr.length] = i;
    funArr[funArr.length] = function(){  return i; };
}

Here, we can see the anonymous function contains a reference to the outermost i. As that value changes, it will be reflected within the anonymous function, which does not retain its own copy of the value in any form. Thus, since i == 10 in the outermost scope at the time that we go and call all of these functions we've created, each function will return the value 10.

Answer 3

I recommend picking up a book like JavaScript: The Definitive Guide to gain a deeper understanding of JavaScript in general so you can avoid common pitfalls like this.

This answer also provides a decent explanation on closures specifically:

How do JavaScript closures work?

When you invoke

function() { return i; }

the function is actually doing a variable look-up on the parent call-object (scope), which is where i is defined. In this case, i is defined as 10, and so every single one of those functions will return 10. The reason this works

(function(i){ return function(){ return i;}})(i);

is that by invoking an anonymous function immediately, a new call-object is created in which the current i is defined. So when you invoke the nested function, that function refers to the call-object of the anonymous function (which defines whatever value you passed to it when it was invoked), not the scope in which i was originally defined (which is still 10).