In most cases, the value of a function's this
argument is determined by how the function is called. This lesson explains what this
refers to when we call plain function. Marius points out how functions behave differently in strict and non-strict mode. "use strict"
mode defaults this
to undefined and prevents us from assigning values to undefined. We must call functions as a constructor to assign their this
value correctly.
"use strict"; console.log(this === global) // false, in REPL this === global console.log(this === module.exports) // true function Person(firstName, lastName) { console.log(this === global) // without 'use strict', true; with strict mode, false console.log(this === undefined) //without 'use strict', false; with strict mode, true } Person()
Inside a function,
- strict mode, 'this' is undefined
- without strict mode, 'this' is global
"use strict"; console.log(this === global) // false, in REPL this === global console.log(this === module.exports) // true function Person(firstName, lastName) { console.log(this === global) // without 'use strict', true; with strict mode, false console.log(this === undefined) //without 'use strict', false; with strict mode, true this.firstName = firstName; this.lastName = lastName; } const person = new Person("Jane", "Doe"); console.log(person); console.log(global.firstName); //undefined console.log(global.lastName); //undefined