Skip to content

Methods

Methods

Introduction

Methods are functions that are properties of objects. They can access the object’s other properties via the this keyword.

Shorthand Method Syntax (ES6)

const user = {
  name: 'Alice',
  greet() {       // shorthand — no 'function' keyword
    return `Hi, I'm ${this.name}`;
  }
};

user.greet(); // "Hi, I'm Alice"

Traditional Syntax

const user = {
  name: 'Alice',
  greet: function() {
    return `Hi, I'm ${this.name}`;
  }
};

Arrow Functions as Methods

const user = {
  name: 'Alice',
  greet: () => {
    return `Hi, I'm ${this.name}`; // this is NOT user!
  }
};
// Arrow functions don't have their own 'this'

Method Chaining

const calculator = {
  value: 0,
  add(n) { this.value += n; return this; },
  subtract(n) { this.value -= n; return this; },
  getResult() { return this.value; }
};

calculator.add(5).subtract(2).getResult(); // 3

Summary

Methods are functions stored as object properties
Use shorthand syntax: methodName() {}
Use this to access other properties
Arrow functions don’t bind their own this

Further Reading

MDN: Method Definitions