Beginners AngularJS code not working as expected

Question

I'm new to AngularJS and was just playing around with the stuff. Here is my HTML:

<div ng-app ng-controller="nameController">
    <input type="text"  value="Jack" ng-model="fname" />
    <input type="text" value="Sparrow" ng-model="lname" />
    {{getFullName()}}
</div>

<input type="text" value="Hello" />

And here is the controller code:

function nameController($scope) {
    $scope.getFullName = function () {
        return $scope.fname + " " + $scope.lname;
    };
}

I have set the value of the input text fields using the value attribute. So I expected the controller function getFullName to read those values and return the full name on page load. But what I get is:

undefined undefined

And the input text boxes empty. Why is it so?

score 1 · Answer 1 · answered Jun 26 '13 at 08:40

If you want default values for those inputs, use the model and set them as properties on $scope in the controller:

function nameController($scope) {
    $scope.fname = "Jack";
    $scope.lname = "Sparrow";
    $scope.getFullName = function () {
        return $scope.fname + " " + $scope.lname;
    };
}

You can then remove the value attribute from the markup. This keeps the data nicely separated from the view. Here's a working example.

Alternatively, you could use the ngInit directive:

<div ng-app ng-controller="nameController" ng-init="fname = 'Jack'; lname = 'Sparrow'">
    <input type="text" ng-model="fname" />
    <input type="text" ng-model="lname" />
    {{getFullName()}}
</div>

ok dat works....but just to know why it doesn't pick up data from value attr of input element on page load — iJade, Jun 26 '13 at 08:41
@iBlue - Just because that's the way it works. The data belongs in the model, not in the view. — James Allardice, Jun 26 '13 at 08:43

Beginners AngularJS code not working as expected

1 Answers1