Skip to main content

Introduction to Methods

A Method is simply a function that has been attached as a property of an Object.

Since essentially everything in JavaScript (aside from true primitives) builds upon Objects, practically all complex data types come with built-in methods designed to manipulate their state.

Defining Custom Methods​

You can create methods inside your own objects:

const user = {
    name: "Midhun",
    age: 25,
    // Method declaration
    sayHello: function() {
        console.log("Hello there!");
    },
    // Modern ES6 Method Syntax (Preferred)
    greet() {
        console.log(`Hi, my name is ${this.name}`);
    }
};

user.sayHello(); // Hello there!
user.greet();    // Hi, my name is Midhun

The Power of this​

Notice the this.name in the greet() method? When you invoke a method, this acts as a reference keyword pointing back to the object executing the current function. It allows methods to access sibling properties natively!

If you called user.greet(), JS evaluates this.name into user.name.