Function call order with the same function as arguments. Javascript

Question

I have following code:

function f() {

    //...do stuff with arguments 
    //and return something...

}

f(root,
    f(child1),
    f(child2,
        f(subchild1),
        .... 
    ),
);

I want to know when the root level of 'f' is called, so I introduce a flag as an argument:

f(root, '-r',
  f(child1),
  f(child2),
  //...
)

My question is: Is there a way to know when 'f' is called on the top level "f(root,...)" without adding additional arguments?

Answer 1

No, you have no way of telling, in code within f, that its return value isn't being used to build an arguments list for a subsequent call to f. (Or indeed, that its return value is or isn't being used for any particular thing, or nothing, at all.) It's not an unreasonable question, but that information just isn't available to f.