How do I pass variables between functions in Javascript?

Question

Here are 2 functions in the simplest form. I'm working with jquery.

What is the best way to pass var str from the first function to the second one?

function a() {     var str = "first"; };  function b() {     var new = str + " second"; }; 

Answer 1

You need to either pass it between them, or it seems from your example, just declare it in a higher scope:

var str; function a(){   str="first"; } function b(){   var something = str +" second"; //new is reserved, use another variable name } 

Answer 2

Use function parameters, like this:

function a() {    var str = "first";    b(str); }  function b(s) {    var concat = s + " second";    //do something with concat here... } 

You could just declare a variable higher up in the scope chain, but I opt to use arguments to restrict variable access to only the contexts that absolutely need it.

Oh yeah, isn't that called the principle of least privilege?