What Exactly is "this" Keyword in JavaScript

It is quite common for JavaScript developers to find this keyword to be confusing and understand it incorrectly. To get the expected results, developers make random guesses and do hit and trial. They often assume that this refers to the lexical scope of the current function, which is definitely not true.

To begin with, we must understand that the this keyword is a runtime binding whose value is determined at function invocation (where function is being called), not where it will be used. In order to determine what this is, we should look at how the function is called. There are different ways by which we can assign the value of this keyword.

Default Binding#

Default binding is applied whenever a function is invoked without using call, bind, and apply methods. Furthermore, no new keyword is used and there is no additional context provided. We will cover all these in later part of the blog. In such scenario, default binding is applied and the this keyword will point to the global execution context.

1function foo() {
2    var name = 'Tom';
3    console.log(this.name);
4}
5var name = 'Andy';
6foo(); // Andy;
7

In the above example, the value of this inside foo will point to the global context resulting in "Andy" as the output. The behavior changes when we execute the same function in the strict mode. With the strict mode and the default binding, the this keyword will point to undefined.

1'use strict';
2function foo() {
3    console.log(this);
4}
5foo(); // undefined;
6

In the above example, the value of this will be undefined as we are using strict mode.

Explicit Binding#

JavaScript functions are special types of objects that can be invoked by using () after the object name. These special objects contain some helper methods attached to them like call, apply and bind which allows us to explicitly bind this keyword to any specific value. While these methods are all aimed at bind the this keyword with a specific object, they all differ in a few ways. Let's discuss about each of them

Call Method#

This method invokes the function and binds this to the value given as the first parameter of the function.

1function foo() {
2    console.log(this.name);
3}
4foo.call({name: 'John'}); // John
5

The first argument will be the value of this, and the rest will be passed down the function.

1function foo(age, place) {
2    console.log(this.name, age, place);
3}
4foo.call({name: 'John'}, 21, 'Kullu' ); // John 21 Kullu
5

Apply Method#

This method is similar to the call method; the only difference is the way arguments are provided to the function. In apply method arguments are provided as an array where as in call method arguments are provided comma separated

1function foo(age, place) {
2    console.log(this.name, age, place);
3}
4foo.apply({name: 'John'}, [21, 'Kullu'] ); // John 21 Kullu
5

Bind Method#

The Bind method expects a value in the first parameter and it will return a new function whose this is bound to the value given in first argument.

1function foo() {
2    console.log(this.name);
3}
4const bar = foo.bind({name: 'John'});
5bar() // John
6

You may also pass other arguments to the bind method, which will be passed to the calling function and applied before the arguments passed to the new function

1function foo(age, place) {
2    console.log(this.name, age, place);
3}
4const bar = foo.bind({name: 'John'}, 10);
5bar('Kullu') // John 10 Kullu
6

When to use which method#

The call and apply both method invokes the function immediately with the provided arguments and the value of this. If you want to execute the function immediately then go ahead and use call/apply methods. It's simply a matter of deciding whether to send an array (apply) or a list of arguments spelled out in comma-separated form (call).

If you want to use call the same function later, then use the bind method. It is used quite often for the event handlers like onClick where we don't know when the function will be called

Context Object#

In the case where a function is attached to an object, the this keyword will refer to the attached object. Here, the object will serve as the context for the function

1const obj = {
2    name: 'Gaurav',
3    foo: function () {
4        console.log(this.name);
5    }
6}
7
8obj.foo(); // Gaurav
9

new binding#

JavaScript has a new keyword which calls the constructor function. It will create an empty object and bind the this to that newly created object. The function will return this binding if it does not explicitly return anything

1function Foo() {
2    this.name = 'Gaurav';
3}
4
5const bar = new Foo();
6console.log(bar.name); // Gaurav
7

Binding Order#

Until now, we have determined that the value of this binding can be determined using the methods described above. However, what if two cases relate to the same case? In a given case, there should be some order or precedence in applying the above method. Now let's discuss the order in which to check which method applies to a specific case

The default binding will always have the lowest priority. Therefore, explicit biding will always have precedence over the default binding. Also, one thing to note is that we can't use new operator along with the apply or call method.

Quick Recap#

1. The this keyword is a runtime binding whose value is determined at function invocation (where function is being called), not where it will be used.
2. Default binding is applied whenever a function is invoked without using call, bind, and apply methods
3. Function contains some helper methods attached to them like call, apply and bind which allows us to explicitly bind this keyword to any specific value
4. In the case where a function is attached to an object, the this keyword will refer to the attached object.
5. The new operator will create an empty object and bind the this to that newly created object.
6. Explicit biding will always have precedence over the implicit binding.
7. We can't use new operator along with the apply or call method