dynamically creating variable names

[AtomicPenguin]

Hey guys!

Nice to be back here.

Here's my problem: I need to create a variable name dynamically, made up of a string (say "var_name_") and an integer. Ultimately I want something like this:

var_name_1 = 'whatever value I want';
var_name_2 = 'whatever value I want';
var_name_3 = 'whatever value I want';
...
var_name_N = 'whatever value I want';



But the actual variable names are determined at run-time, so I can't just hardcode them.

Any suggestions? JavaScript doesn't seem to have a Variable type, so I can't just cast a string into a var...

[Zero G]

I have two ideas for you.

1) Only have one variable but make it an array. And use that to store all your values
2) Use php to print out variables when the page loads.

I had the same kind of problem while doing a visual basic application a while ago and ended up making an array to simulate the variables.


I don’t think JS has anything where you can make new variables at runtime

[mw22]

You could use eval(), I think:
for (var i=0;i<9;i++){
eval('var_name_'+i+'="whatever you want";');
}
But you could better use an array to store the variables in that case.

[Vincent Puglia]

Hi,

You might find the following helpful:

for (i = 0; i < 3; i++){
x = ('var myVar' + i + ' = ' + i)
eval(x)
alert("test1: x is a " + typeof x + "\n x = '" + x + "'")
}
for (i = 0; i < 3; i++)
alert('myVar' + i + ' = ' + eval('myVar'+i))
for (i = 0; i < 3; i++)
alert(eval('var myVar' + i + ' = ' + i))
for (i = 0; i < 3; i++)
alert('test2: myVar' + i + ' = ' + eval('myVar'+i))

However, 'dynamic' does not always mean 'unknown', so what is you are doing exactly? For example: Why can't you grab the recordset length and use that to determine how many vars you need?

Vinny

[vibes35]

You could access each variable name as a string using the window object

window["my_var"+x] = "";

i guess declaring a variable in this manner without var could cause scope problems in functions etc though.

Adam