Javascript objects: use a variable's value to access a specific object

Question

I have multiple objects with identical properties:

var obj1 = { bar: "value1", foo: "value2"};
var obj2 = { bar: "value3", foo: "value4"};

I also have a variable.

var selector = "";

selector is either "obj1" or "obj2". How can I call one of the objects using selector without knowing the object's name?

For instance, I tried:

window(["selector"][bar])

Any help is appreciated! :)

But you probably shouldn't be doing that; have obj1 and obj2 themselves be properties of one of your own objects rather than the global object. — Pointy
– Pointy, Commented Mar 19, 2017 at 21:31
In addition to what @Pointy said, the reason here is that () are used to invoke a method, so by doing window() your script looks for a function called window — Sterling Archer
– Sterling Archer, Commented Mar 19, 2017 at 21:32
or just use lodash with it's _.get method that will safely return undefined or default value. example: _.get(window, 'obj1.foo') or _.get(window, 'obj1.baar', null) or var selector = 'obj1.foo'; var value = _.get(window, selector); — num8er
– num8er, Commented Mar 19, 2017 at 21:42

lightshadowninja · Accepted Answer · 2017-03-19 21:33:37Z

2

You have parenthesis. window is not a function. Try without the parenthesis. In addition, you need to put quotes around bar.

window[selector]["bar"]

answered Mar 19, 2017 at 21:33

lightshadowninja

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