Global Variable Scope Not recognized in Node.js console

Question

So in a browser (chrome), if I run this code in the js console, the function call foo(); prints to the console the number 2. But if I run it in node.js, the function call foo() prints undefined. Why is this the case? Does node automatically run code in 'strict mode'?

function foo() {     
   console.log(this.a); 
} 

var a = 2; 

foo();

Ah i see. in REPL it works. but running a file with this code called foo.js by typing "node foo.js" to the terminal prints undefined. wondering why it does that — Daniel Russell, Nov 24 '15 at 18:09
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/19850234/node-js-variable-declaration-and-scope — czheo, Nov 24 '15 at 18:09

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered Nov 24 '15 at 18:15

2

As mentioned in the document

var something inside an Node.js module will be local to that module.

So, it is going to be different.

You can alternatively, try:

function foo() {     
   console.log(this.a); 
} 
global.a = 2; 

foo();

answered Nov 24 '15 at 18:15

prasun

6,324
9
33
56

Global Variable Scope Not recognized in Node.js console

1 Answers1