Question

116

Is it possible to override JavaScript's toString() function to provide meaningful output for debugging?

rated 0 times [ 118] [ 2] / answers: 1 / hits: 127031 / 13 Years ago, fri, june 10, 2011, 12:00:00

When I console.log() an object in my JavaScript program, I just see the output [object Object], which is not very helpful in figuring out what object (or even what type of object) it is.

In C# I'm used to overriding ToString() to be able to customize the debugger representation of an object. Is there anything similar I can do in JavaScript?

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jarvisjovannia

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3 Years ago

answered 13 Years ago cruzs · Accepted Answer

You can override toString in Javascript as well. See example:

function Foo() {}



// toString override added to prototype of Foo class

Foo.prototype.toString = function() {

  return [object Foo];

}



var f = new Foo();

console.log( + f); // console displays [object Foo]

See this discussion on how to determine object type name in JavaScript.