Get name of prototype object

Question

This question just got upvoted so can update question with what I did

I solved it by iterating over the window object (or user specified object root) and when I found the correct instance I backtracked and got the name from the index. The final solution can be found here

https://github.com/AndersMalmgren/Knockout.BindingConventions

Update end

I'm planning on writing a convention over configuration template source engine for KnockoutJS / MVC. I'm started with a little client side POC and ran into a show stopper right away

My plan is use this syntax or something similar

MyApp.EditCustomersViewModel = function() {
   ko.templates.loadView(this);
};

When doing this it will check the tamplate cache or fetch the templates from server using the object name as key. The problem is I cant get the name of the prototype object, i tried this

Object.prototype.getName = function() {
   var funcNameRegex = /function (.{1,})\(/;
   var results = (funcNameRegex).exec((this).constructor.toString());
   return (results && results.length > 1) ? results[1] : "";
};

If works for objects defined like this

function MyClass() { 
}

If you add a prototype to the above object it will not work, or if you define it like this

MyApp = {};
MyApp.MyClass = function() {
};

Prototype and scoping is two musts so this is a showstopper, any ideas?

Fiddle: http://jsfiddle.net/aRWLA/

edit: The background for this is like this.

On the server you have structure like this

• Templates\ [ViewName]\index.html
• Templates\ [ViewName]\sub-model-template.html

on the client you will do

MyApp.EditCustomersViewModel = function() {
   ko.templates.loadView(this);
};

which will generate a ajax request with the objects name as key, which will fetch all the templates for the view in question

Answer 1

Only hoisted functions (function someFunc() {) have a retrievable name.

Assigned functions do not, because you are not technically naming the function but creating an anonymous function and assigning a reference to it (in the memory) to a named variable.

So it's the var, not the function, that is named.

This makes the very idea of retrieving function names pretty much a none-starter, since in any vaguely mature pattern you'll be writing methods, not hoisted functions - and methods of course are assigned functions.

Named expressions (see other answers) are a partial workaround but these have other issues - not least lack of support in older IEs.

(Sidenote: I've long expected browser vendors to build around this such that the names of assigned functions became retrievable, but no joy yet AFAIK.)