Parse javascript function name from js file using javascript

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Return all of the functions that are defined in a Javascript file

OK so i have a JS file in which i have a number of JavaScript functions defined.Is there any way to parse out the name of all function in that particular JS file using JavaScript.Any guidance or link to achieve this will be appreciated

To do what you're asking, in the general case, requires a JavaScript parser. If all the function declarations follow a fairly rigid convention you might be able to do it with a regular expression. — Pointy, Jan 03 '13 at 19:31
Does the javascript tag mean you want to do this using javascript itself? — Asad Saeeduddin, Jan 03 '13 at 19:33
and http://stackoverflow.com/questions/3853274/to-find-javascript-functions-in-js-file — sachleen, Jan 03 '13 at 19:33
I can think of a few ways to go about this, but maybe you could explain what you are trying to accomplish, as that will greatly affect the answer — Daniel Moses, Jan 03 '13 at 19:33
@DMoses i'm trying to display all javascript functions available on that page — iJade, Jan 03 '13 at 19:38
So you are talking about a web page that has js files and not a specific js file? — Daniel Moses, Jan 03 '13 at 19:42
@DMoses the web page has a specific and single js file in which all js functions are delclared.This file is referred in the html page — iJade, Jan 03 '13 at 19:49
I think this question nowadays definitely needs a better answer. Not the same answer from 2 years ago which all seem to be linking, even if it is not fully cross-browser supported. But, it won't be me. Not this time — Alexander, Jan 03 '13 at 20:36

score 0 · Answer 1 · answered Jan 03 '13 at 19:42

If you are not generating the js file dynamically, the easiest and safest option is to keep a hard-coded list of function names.

All other parsing methods are risky because

String parsing of the code is not safe, since you will have to cater too many cases
There are options to get all global functions. But they are browser dependent. like looping through all window objects for objects with typeof window[x] === 'function'

score 0 · Answer 2 · edited May 23 '17 at 12:12

If it's just for development purposes then use an IDE. The IDE will depend on your environment. For example, you might you IntelliJ if your server side code is Java or Visual Studio's if you are a .NET shop.

If you really need to use javascript to dynamically go through the list of functions I suggest rethinking why you need to do it. If it turns out usefull you could namespace your functions and then just iterate over the namespace functions. See this answer for how to namespace https://stackoverflow.com/a/5947280/695461. Then iterate over the "public" functions.

Again, if it's just for development ease of use, use an IDE. They have whole teams of people writing parsers and syntax highlighters and structure diagrams for you.

Parse javascript function name from js file using javascript

2 Answers2