Reference variable in definition?

Question

How can I reference variable while define it in Javascript?

var person = {
 basic: {
   name: 'jack',
   sex: 0,
 },
 profile: {
   AA: 'jack' + '_sth', # How can I write like this: AA: basic.name + '_sth'
 },
};

possible duplicate of [reference variable in object literal?](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/4858931/reference-variable-in-object-literal) — Quentin, May 20 '13 at 08:48
You cannot have a comma before closing an object literal: `, }' is not allowed. — pvorb, May 20 '13 at 09:05

score 3 · Answer 1 · edited May 23 '17 at 12:11

You can't.

You have to do

var name = 'jack';

var person = {
 basic: {
   name: name,
   sex: 0
 },
 profile: {
   AA: name + '_sth'
 }
};

Just like this answer says, you could also do something like the following

function Person() {
  this.basic = {
    name: 'jack',
    sex: 0
  };
  this.profile = {
    AA: this.basic.name + '_sth'
  };
}

var person = new Person();

But this creates an instance of Person, not a plain and simple JS object.

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered May 20 '13 at 08:47

1

Try this

    var person = {
     basic: {
       name: 'jack',
       sex: 0
     }
   };
    person.profile= {
       AA:person.basic.name + '_sth'
    };

answered May 20 '13 at 08:47

Anoop

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@pvorb initially I forgot to replace collon with equal. – Anoop May 20 '13 at 08:54

score 0 · Answer 3 · answered May 20 '13 at 08:50

0

you just cant. other than work arounds like sushil's and pvorb's, you cant reference an object still being defined.

also you can try a getfunction

answered May 20 '13 at 08:50

nl-x

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score 0 · Answer 4 · answered May 20 '13 at 09:06

You could also use an Immediately Invoked Function Expression (IFFE) :

var person = function(name) {
 var prsn = {
      basic: {
        name: name || 'anonymous',
        sex: 0
       }
      };
 return {basic: prsn.basic, profile: {AA: prsn.basic.name + '_sth'}};
}('Jack');

Reference variable in definition?

4 Answers4