How can I detect when a variable changes value in JavaScript?

Question

Before I start, I'd just like to say that there are already answered questions on this topic, and I looked them up - but because I'm still somewhat of a beginner, I can't really figure out the answer as it's too complex for me. So I wanted to give my own example, a dead simple one, and try to understand based on that.

Essentially what I want to do is run a function when an already existing variable, with a defined value, changes its value. Something like this:

var testVar = 5;
function letMeKnow() {
console.log("The variable has changed!);
}

What I want is, when I go to the console and type, say testVar = 7, I want the letMeKnow() function to run, and print something out in the console. More specifically, I want JavaScript to detect that the variable has changed, and run the function automatically. I know that this used to be possible with Object.observe() or Object.watch(), but since those are deprecated I suppose that I have to use getters and setters to achieve this. My question is, how would I do that for this example, keeping it as simple as possible?

Thanks!

Answer 1

A simple example using getter/setter can be like:

var obj = {
  value: '',
  letMeKnow() {
    console.log(`The variable has changed to ${this.testVar}`);
  },
  get testVar() {
    return this.value;
  },
  set testVar(value) {
    this.value = value;
    this.letMeKnow();
  }
}

console.log(obj.testVar)

obj.testVar = 5;
console.log(obj.testVar)

obj.testVar = 15;
console.log(obj.testVar)