pointer argument in javascript function

Question

I have this simple function in php and the parameter is a pointer. What is the equivalent of this in JavaScript.

<?php

    function test( &$val )
        {
        echo    $val;
        $val ++;
        }

    $value  = 5;
    test( $value );
    echo    $value
?>

Can be done using an object as parameter?

Thank you.

There is no equivalent in javascript, but you could use variables in a higher scope as a workaround as noted in the answer by Patrick. — adeneo
– adeneo, Commented Feb 3, 2014 at 19:12

Patrick Evans · Accepted Answer · 2014-02-03 19:10:51Z

3

While primitives like numbers,strings etc cannot be passed by reference, all objects/arrays are. So to do what you want first put your value in an object and then pass it

var container = {
   myvalue:5
};

function changeVal(obj){
   obj.myvalue = 8;
}

console.log(container.myvalue); //prints: 5
changeVal(container);
console.log(container.myvalue); //prints: 8

answered Feb 3, 2014 at 19:10

Patrick Evans

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1 Comment

h2odev Over a year ago

Thank you Patrick, very useful and an easy way to implement on my project.

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