Functions in Node
Course Home | What are Methods? | Code Example(s)
So we’ve already seen examples of functions in the previous lessons, but let’s explore them in more detail
Let’s first look at how we declare a function. We’ve seen in previous lessons how we can declare functions but there are actually a few ways in which we can do it:
// I can declare a function by assigning it to a variable
var myFirstFunction = function(){
console.log("Hello from function one");
}
// Or I can switch the function keyword and function name
function mySecondFunction(){
console.log("Hello from function two");
}
// When I run this both functions will execute
myFirstFunction();
mySecondFunction();
We can also pass values into our functions through the use of parameters:
// This function has a parameter that can be used inside
// the function
function myThirdFunction(message){
console.log(message);
}
// This means I can provide a value when I call the function
// and it will be used inside the function
myThirdFunction("Hello from function three");
Parameters can be Strings, Numbers and even other functions:
// This function declares has a parameter that is later
// in the function called as a function in it's own right
// (Hence the use of the brackets next the parameter name)
function myFourthFunction(callback){
callback();
}
// So when we call the function and provide it with a
// second function it will be triggered
myFourthFunction(function(){
console.log("Hello from function four");
});
Functions when executed can also return values through the keyword return like so:
// Functions can also return values to use later with the
// return keyword
function myFifthFunction(){
var math = 10 * 10;
return math;
}
var result = myFifthFunction();
console.log("10 * 10 equals: " + result);
Finally we should talk about a thing called scope. Scope is a design pattern that determines the access of a variable is based upon where it is declared. For example try running this code snippet:
// Let's declare a variable that has global scope
var messageOne = "Hello from global variable"
// Then let's declare a new function
function mySixthFunction(){
// Let's declare a variable that has local scope
var messageTwo = "Hello from local variable"
console.log(messageOne);
console.log(messageTwo);
}
// Then let's declare another function that uses
// the local scope variable from the previous function
function mySeventhFunction(){
console.log(messageOne);
console.log(messageTwo);
}
// Calling the first method will return both messages
mySixthFunction();
// Calling the second method will return an error when
// attempting to read the local variable
mySeventhFunction();
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