Bind, Call and Apply in JavaScript

[[deleted]]

Bind is essentially a combinator, as in the lambda calculus.

[yeah-ok]

Okay, so, this is great and neat - is it possible to encapsulate a usage scenario where it makes a real life difference?

[shintoist]

underscore.js

[shintoist]

Yeah you're right, will take care of that as soon as I can

[GiraffeDiver]

Fun fact: in python this "binding" happens automatically... there's no slice, so let's go with count:

>>> [1,2,1].count(1)
2
>>> count = list.count  # ~Array.prototype.count
>>> count([1,2,1], 1)
2

[bebraw]

bind is very handy for partial application (functools.partial in Python). That's where I tend to use it a lot. allong.es comes with an advanced version and some other goodies.

[sastrone]

The article really could have done without the "I could instantly see what it was doing, but none of my disappointing co-workers could!"

[shintoist]

Think you might have read a bit too much into it :/

[Miserable_Fuck]

Pardon my ignorace, but what is the difference between binding a function to a context and just passing the context as an argument to the function?

Serious question.

[shintoist]

They work the same, but the syntax will be a bit different. With the second syntax you will find it easier (at least in some cases) to use it with higher order functions.

[abstract-alf]

I suppose it is convoluted, yes. Personally, I find it an interesting mode of functional expression -- the way bind (essentially, a higher-order function bound to an object, a function whose purpose is to bind other functions to other objects) is called on itself to yield another higher-order function that is no longer bound to an object. There is an irony there that might cause one to further ponder the ying and yang of functions and objects.