References in JavaScript

So, I've been getting more refined in my usage of JavaScript, and I've stumbled across a functionality that I knew existed, but didn't know that it existed to the extent that it does, and it's really made me kind of happy.

Since JavaScript is standard at my job, I get to use its glory in every application I create!  Woot!

As many people know, one of JavaScripts flaws is that it's a language that is based on global variables.

Douglas Crockford says this is evil, and I have to agree.  It gives a lot of room for libraries and plug-ins to collide with each other and make an awful mess.

In the current portion of the project that I'm working on, I am setting up an administration page to allow people with a certain level of access the ability to completely edit call records in anyway they see fit.

I use jQuery's datepicker (with a modified theme created by theme roller) for the calendar (you should check it out here), allow the user to submit a date range and an employee to pull back call records for and then list the call records out in a nice list for them to select which one they want/need to edit.

They then select the individual call, which is listed by Submit Date and Customer ID.  That brings them to the view/edit page.

I pull back all the call's information via AJAX to an ASP validation page.  My ASP page formats the data in a JSON format, and using Douglas Crockford's json_parse function, I am able to parse the XML into an easy-to-use JavaScript complient JSON object.

Neat.

My initial thought was to create a global variable to house the call record that was currently being edited...icky...and then it hit me.  Maybe I can pass the internal object to all of my functions that edit/update, and maybe--just maybe, it will update the object, keeping all the references current, which would allow me to skate by with no additional global variables!

So, I tested it...and it worked!



I ran editStuff and then updateRecord and the new value stuck!

Just another reason why I love JavaScript.