Programmatically get values of variables local to function in javascript?

Question

Given:

function foo(){
  var bar = "quux";
  console.log(/*mystery code here*/);
}

I'm looking for code that when inserted into the comment would yield the value of bar. By way of illustration, something like this works in a global scope:

var foo = "bar";
var bar = "quux";
console.log(window[foo]);

But, of course, variables defined globally are appended to the window object. Variables local to a function are not. Is there some similar way to programmatically get to local function variables?

Answer 1

In the first place, why do you need to do that? Isn't it enough to do something like this?

console.log(bar);

Local variables are not available outside its scope in JS, but if you're trying to access them only inside your function then there's no need for an alternative way to access them.

Perhaps if you told us the real problem behind this (not just this example) we could provide you with a better alternative than looking for something like window[foo].

Answer 2

As far as I know this is not possible and I can't see how can it be helpful. However you can find field names of any object with the for..in construct like this:

for(field in obj){ console.debug("Obj has a field named:"+field+" with value:"+obj[field]); }

Answer 3

Nope, afraid not.

See: javascript locals()?