Static variables in JavaScript

Question

How can I create static variables in Javascript?

Answer 1

You can create a static variable in JavaScript like this below. Here count is the static variable.

var Person = function(name) {
  this.name = name;
  // first time Person.count is undefined, so it is initialized with 1
  // next time the function is called, the value of count is incremented by 1
  Person.count = Person.count ? Person.count + 1 : 1;
}

var p1 = new Person('User p1');
console.log(p1.constructor.count);   // prints 1
var p2 = new Person('User p2');
console.log(p2.constructor.count);   // prints 2

You can assign values to the static variable using either the Person function, or any of the instances:

// set static variable using instance of Person
p1.constructor.count = 10;         // this change is seen in all the instances of Person
console.log(p2.constructor.count); // prints 10

// set static variable using Person
Person.count = 20;
console.log(p1.constructor.count); // prints 20