CODEWITHSUNDEEP
javascriptjson
Issac Kelly
Issac Kelly

Reputation: 6359

How do I reference an object dynamically?

In Javascript, I have an object:

obj = { one: "foo", two: "bar" };

Now, I want do do this

var a = 'two';
if(confirm('Do you want One'))
{
  a = 'one';
}

alert(obj.a);

But of course it doesn't work. What would be the correct way of referencing this object dynamically?

Upvotes: 8

Views: 7200

Answers (3)

Javier
Javier

Reputation: 62613

short answer: obj[a]

long answer: obj.field is just a shorthand for obj["field"], for the special case where the key is a constant string without spaces, dots, or other nasty things. in your question, the key wasn't a constant, so simply use the full syntax.

Upvotes: 20

Greg
Greg

Reputation: 321698

As a side note, global variables are attached to the "window" object, so you can do

var myGlobal = 'hello';
var a = 'myGlobal';
alert(window[a] + ', ' + window.myGlobal + ', ' + myGlobal);

This will alert "hello, hello, hello"

Upvotes: 2

yfeldblum
yfeldblum

Reputation: 65445

Like this:

obj[a]

Upvotes: 6

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