I would like understand because use 'this' like argument in a function js

JavaScript
1 
 function circleIndicator(){
        for(let i=0; i< slides.length; i++){
        	const div=document.createElement("div");
        	      div.innerHTML=i+1;
                div.setAttribute("onclick","indicateSlide(this)")
                div.id=i;
                if(i==0){
                	div.className="active";
                }
               indicator.appendChild(div);
        }
    }
    circleIndicator();

    function indicateSlide(element){
         index=element.id;
         changeSlide();
         updateCircleIndicator();
         resetTimer();
    }

*Why ‘this’ in indicateSlide(this)?

2

Hi @pandabuddy, this always refers to the context on which a given method was called; in this case, it refers to the div to which the onclick() handler has been assigned. It may get clearer if you write it as an actual function, rather than an attribute string:

div.onclick = function () {
  // We're assigning a function to the div's
  // `onclick` property, so inside the function,
  // `this` refers to `div`
  indicateSlide(this)
}

Or better yet:

div.addEventListener('click', function () {
  indicateSlide(this)
})
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3

Or better yet, get rid of the confusing this.

div.addEventListener('click', function (evt) {
  const el = evt.target;
  indicateSlide(el);
});
Edit:

evt.currentTarget is more appropriate in this case, giving code of:

div.addEventListener('click', function (evt) {
  const el = evt.currentTarget;
  indicateSlide(el);
});
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4

Note though that event.target will not necessarily be the same as this, but might also be a child that dispatched the event; the exact equivalent to this would be event.currentTarget in this context.

1 Like
5

wow guys. You are amazing!

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